Seeping Shadows (Book Two)
by Blue-Eyes Black Wolf
Summary: Still struggling with their confusion towards their new werewolf friend, the Titans soon find themselves questioning where they stand with several other enemies. Meanwhile, unbeknowst to the Titans, the clock is ticking as the Wolfman challenges death, as well as inadvertently introduces the world of the supernatural to Jump City: aliens, witches, and of course, other werewolves.
1. The Other Side

After leaping over the edge, I found myself once again, frantically jumping from branch to branch just as quickly as they were breaking underneath me. Even in my smaller wolf form, I was still too heavy of a fat ass for the top branches to support. Much to my relief however when I finally managed to reach a level of branches strong enough for me to stand on. Once there, I pause for a moment to sit and scratch the backs of my ears with my hind leg as I had been showered in pine needles during the process of branch jumping.

"Are you coming or aren't you", asked an impatient Killer Moth as his drone floated back up towards me as I continued to scratch.

"Don't get your wings in a knot, Moth. Just had to pause for my claws is all."

"Cute, but we've got no time to waste. Now hurry back before the sun sets."

"Fine", I said as I rose back onto my paws preparing to follow.

"This way", said Killer Moth as he then decided to travel through the tops of the trees instead of continuing towards the ground first. This didn't bother me too much as the path he led me on consisted of a great deal of these large pines trees I was branch jumping through as they had their branches tangled into one another much like the trees I hid under on that previous stormy night. After traveling via tree branches for about a good twenty minutes, we finally reached a part of the forest where the trees grew further apart from one another, which led to me make a large leap from the last tree onto the ground. "Impressive", said Moth as he paused for a moment to acknowledge that I stuck the landing on all four paws. I simply shrugged in response as I didn't see it as too big of a deal, but Killer Moth simply chuckled in response to my shrug.

 _This guy is easily amused_ , I thought to myself as I started noticing that it was incredibly easy to impress him. It almost seemed too easy, especially considering that I managed to fool him just as easily by simply pretending to be interested in his offer to join his cause. My thoughts were cut short however as Moth's drone darted off deeper into the forest, with me hot on his tail. I eventually managed to catch up to where I was running alongside his drone as we continued to dash and zigzag through all the trees and brush we passed.

"So what's your story", asked Moth as I ran beside him. Though he was correct in assuming that the run was merely a light jog for me, and I therefore had more than enough breath to converse with him, it still seemed like an odd time to strike up a conversation, especially considering I just met him.

"What do you wanna know?"

"Hmmm, let's start with your powers."

"What about 'em?"

"How far can they go?" I looked at him for a brief moment as his question was very vague. "What I mean is what can you turn into? So far I've seen you be a wolf and a lion, and my drone caught footage of you being a snake, and a bear for a brief moment", he added in reference to when I fought off the Titans. I paused for a moment before answering as we had slowed down to a stop at the edge of a large clearing.

"Other than that, I can turn into a spider", I lied to him. As far as he knew, my only power was to shapeshift, so I kept my extra Elemental powers to myself.

"Shame, the green one can turn into any animal", he said in reference to Beast Boy. A low growl rumbled in my chest as I darted a glare at him. "But no matter, you clearly seem to be stronger than he is anyway", he continued as he floated ahead of me.

 _Nice save_ , I thought to myself sarcastically in response to the fact that five meat-eating predators apparently wasn't enough brute force for him.

"So what do you think", began Killer Moth as I walked up to his drone as it floated at the edge of the clearing. "Nice location, isn't it?" I gasped a little in response to how big the clearing was. It was a beautifully large, open field that was big enough to build a small airplane runway on, yet there was nothing there. No buildings, no laboratory, which had me wondering why he had dragged me there.

"Yes, but we're the ones here other than that buck over there", I said as I motioned my head over towards the left of the meadow, where a male mule deer had one of its back legs caught in a trap, which consisted of a small noose that was tied to a branch of a nearby tree.

"Oh for Christ's sake. I told that boy to have this done before I got back", said a more irritated Moth."

"Problem?"

"My worthless son-in-law was supposed be back from hunting by now. Yet here I am still cleaning up after him."

"I see."

"Do me a favor and take care of that for me", he said in reference to the deer. A part of me struggled to hold back my growl as I wasn't particularly a fan of trapping animals. Unless you a spider or something, I felt that hunting should consist of either a sneak attack or chasing your prey down. At least that way you respected prey enough to let them die like animals and not have them suffer in fear like prisoners first.

"Be right back", I said with a groan as I didn't really want to kill the deer while he was trapped the way he was. However, I knew I didn't have a choice if I wanted to continue with my rouse. I then turned and began to stalk around the edge of the forest that made up the borders of the meadow towards the deer.

"Maybe I wasn't being clear", began an impatient Killer Moth as his drone zoomed into my face, causing me to jump a little in the process. "I asked you to _kill_ that deer!" It took everything in my power to not snap at him in response. Even if I was thinking of joining his cause, I was doing so voluntarily. He was in no way the boss of me and I totally resented the fact that he was already speaking down to me as if I was one of his underlings. But despite that, I managed to hold my tongue and come up with a bullshit lie.

"Then I'd suggest you keep your voice down before my prey hears you", I said to him in a slightly stern tone of voice as I stalked around him, continuing my path towards the deer.

"And if I don't", he challenged me with my back still turned to him. I paused for a moment before answering him.

"Forgive me, I forgot how primitive you humans are when it comes to the hunt. So ignorant to the true benefits."

"How so", said Moth now intrigued with my bullshit.

"Think of that deer as a steak. I could either kill it rare with a brief moment of shock and terror as I leap out at it without it even knowing that I'm there, or thoroughly kill it well-done as I flood its meat with its own adrenaline and fear as I cut it free and give chase until I feel it's been seasoned enough, and though I do prefer the chase, as you've mentioned before we've got a deadline to keep, so you'll have to settle for rare. That is of course, if you want this done the _right_ way. In response to my sadistic analogy, Killer Moth chuckles for a moment before continuing.

"I must say, I like the way you think, Wolfman. I must've forgotten that I'm dealing with an experienced killer."

"Indeed you have", I said in an attempt to milk out this image he had made of me.

"Very well, then. I'll leave this matter to you. As for me, I'm going to find me a good seat. I want to see with my own eyes how skilled your killing instincts truly are", he said as he then turned and began to circle around in the opposite direction.

"Fine, Moth", I said to myself as I continued stalking my prey. In all honesty I was surprised he bought my bullshit about the adrenaline. Adrenaline didn't have anything to do with the taste of my kills when it came to hunting, but I figured it'd shut him up easier if he felt I was being sadistic as opposed to merciful with the deer.

I crept forward about another few minutes, until eventually I found myself only a few yards away from the deer. I then quickly made my way downwind before he could catch a whiff of my scent. I had just found the perfect launching position, a thick bush merely ten feet behind the calm, yet alert buck, when I caught another scent. Even though my new enemy was downwind of me, his scent was loud enough for me to catch a whiff. He was stalking in the brush of the forest behind me. It was around this time that the buck turned his back towards me and focussed his attention on the meadow ahead of him. This would've been the perfect time to make my move, but because I sensed the animal behind me, I waited for a moment to see if he would make the first move, in the hopes that he didn't see me and was instead focussing on the deer. Unfortunately, neither of us made any further movement, and the buck eventually returned his gaze back towards our direction.

 _Oh great_ , I thought to myself as I realized that this new animal presence ruined my plans for a clean kill. It was clear that he knew I was there, and it was also clear that he was waiting for me to make the first move before he did, meaning that he wasn't hunting me. However, it did mean that I was hunting his kill, and he was waiting for me to make the first move so that he could counterattack. _I must be a glutton for stupidity_ , I thought to myself as I prepared to launch myself at the deer anyway. From both a logical and strategic standpoint, there was no point to this other than hope. I was hoping and banking on the possibility of me being able to make my way to the deer, and get in my clean throat slash just in time to face whatever was stalking behind me. _3, 2, 1, GO_ , I thought to myself as I lunged at the deer with a loud roar.

However, just as I had feared, my enemy managed to intercept my attack as he lunged at me from behind, sending us flying up and over the deer before I could even make contact with him. On the flip side, in the process, I accidentally managed to slash the claws on one of my back paws on the rope that trapped the deer, setting him free in the process, so things worked out for the better. As we crashed into the ground, my new enemy and I tumbled over each other towards the center of the meadow for a few moments, until he eventually managed to throw me off of him, causing me to land on my back a few yards away from him.

"Oh man, what hit me", I asked myself as "up" to see an upside down image of my enemy as he began to walk over to me. Much to my surprise when I discovered that it was a some sort of spider-human hybrid that attacked me. He wasn't like Spider-man where he was simply a man with spider-like abilities, or an animals like me who had the ability to Change into a spider, no no, this guy was completely different. He had the neck and full body of a caucasian male, but his head consisted of an entire body of a giant spider, complete with six, red eyes, furry skin, and four long, spider legs. To give you an idea about how giant of a spider this guy was, if he stood upon his two human legs, the top of his spider head would give him a height of about seven feet, about the same size as Mammoth. However, as he stood on his preferred spider legs, he now had a height of nearly ten feet.

"Who the Hell do you think you are", he asked as he came to a stop a few feet away from me.

"I think a better question would be, "what the _fuck_ are you supposed to be?"", I responded to him as I couldn't help but stare at his very bizarre movements. His spider head moved just as any spider would, and his human arms would point, and make gestures just as any normal person's arms would. However, the rest of his "human" body just sort of hung loosely underneath his head, almost like it was a human-shaped piece of loose skin or a very large and unneeded appendage. As a mutant myself, I normally don't criticize or focus that much on looks, but this guy was the first mutant I had ever seen with such a bizarrely complex mutation that I couldn't help but comment on it.

In response to my rude comment, the spider hybrid leapt high into the air, so high that it took me a moment or two to locate him as the sun above was making it difficult to see. However, once I was able to locate him, it was then I noticed that he was planning to flatten me as he began shooting down towards me as I was still lying on my back. I had just managed to roll to the side and flip onto my paws just before he made contact. However, because he was still close enough to me, he swung one of his spider legs at me, striking me across my abdomen and sending me flying backwards a few feet. Despite that, I still managed to straighten myself in midair and land on all four paws, poised and ready to continue our fight.

 _Good thing I'm part feline_ , I thought to myself. When the hybrid noticed that his blow to my abdomen didn't little to nothing, he spit out what looked like a loogie at me. The projectile it had was so quick that I couldn't dodge it. As the gooey and slimy substance slid off of my fur, I then noticed that it was in actuality a web he spit at me, though it was still gross. "Okay, _that_ is just nasty", I said to him as I shook out my fur. Angry and shocked that his web blast didn't work on me, the spider hybrid let out a loud shriek and fired three more webs at me. I responded this time by rising to my hind legs and clawing them out of the air as they darted towards me.

"How're you doing that? Nobody is immune to my webs", exclaimed a now frustrated spider hybrid.

"Unless of course they happen to be part spider themselves", I responded to him as my yellow eyes turned red and four extra arms appeared on the sides of my torso. In response to this, the spider fired a sort of laser blast out of his eyes at me, which was the same color as Blackfire's star bolts. The blast shot right into my chest, but there was no actual force behind it. I didn't even budge, I stood completely still as his blast did nothing to me except leave a weird tingling feeling.

"What the", said the hybrid before he fired three more laser blasts.

"Hehe, that kinda tickles", I said jokingly in reference to the tingling feeling that came with his blasts. It took me a minute, but I soon came to the conclusion that it was toxin that he was blasting me with, which thanks to my mutation was just as useless against me as his webs were. "My turn", I said to him just before I lunged at him with my three right fists drawn back. My opponent, still in disbelief that I was immune to both his venom and his webs, continued firing his venom blasts at me as he attempted to shoot me out of the air. This just left him even more shocked when my three fists made contact with the left side of his face, sending his spiraling backwards a few feet. Once he hit the ground, I began charging at him. With eight legs propelling me forward as opposed to my usual four, I was twice as fast. I had just lunged at him once again, with my teeth bared to bite and my claws tracted for attack, when I heard a familiar commanding voice.

"Enough", commanded Killer Moth as I could see his drone zooming over towards us out the corner of my eye. I couldn't stop myself from lunging at my opponent, as I was already in midair, so instead, as I landed, I used my first pair of arms to go into a handstand and flipped up and over the hybrid, as he was lying on his side, or rather his head's side (it's weird as his head has its own body). When I landed again on all eight of my paws, I took the time to reabsorb my extra legs and paws as the battle was over, or at least it was according to Moth.

My opponent however, didn't see it that way, as he took advantage of the fact that my back was turned to him and tried to sweep my back legs with one of his spider legs. Before he made contact, as I sensed his attack coming from a mile away, I lifted one of my back paws and stomped on his leg, giving my paw a brief twist at the end to inflict more pain. The large spider shrieked once again as Killer Moth shouted at us for the second time.

"I said, "Enough"!" When I noticed he was getting even more irritated, I released the spider's leg from under my paw and stepped away from him, turning to face the both of them in case he tried attacking me again. "Fang", began Killer Moth sternly to the spider hybrid.

"Moth", responded the spider just as sternly as he rose to his spider feet.

"Meet our newest recruit, Wolfman", continued Moth. "Wolfman, this is my son-in-law, Fang."

"Charmed", I said sarcastically as I noticed that this family seemed to have a full-on fetish for bugs and insects.

"You can't be serious, Moth", began Fang. "Recruiting this, this fleabag?"

"Oooh, "fleabag"", I retorted. "That's seriously the best insult you can come up with?"

"Oh, like your the King of Comebacks?"

"I could do a lot better than you at it. For instance, I could talk about how you look like you got your head stuck up a spider's anus." Fang shrieked in response as he started rushing at me, only for Killer Moth's drone to zoom in front of him.

"If I have to tell you for a third time, we're going to have problems", scolded Killer Moth to Fang. "Understand?" Fang hesitated for a moment to shoot a glare at me before responding. I responded to that glare with a growl.

"Yeah", said Fang in an angry mumble.

"I can't hear you."

"I said, "Yes, I understand"".

"Good. Now continue with your hunt, and don't come back until you've finished." Without another word, Fang leapt up and over the both of us and disappeared into the forest once again.

"I apologize for Fang's ignorance", said Moth. Not really sure what to say in response to him I just nodded. "Now please, come on in", he continued as I saw him push a button, which then triggered what felt like a tiny earthquake as the very meadow began to shake. A few moments later, the ground close to where the deer was trapped, sort of tilted downwards to reveal a sort of trap door ramp, large enough for a vehicle to drive in and out of. "Right this way, Mr. Wolfman", said Killer Moth as his drone floated towards the ramp and into the hole. As instructed, I followed behind it.

The ramp traveled through a dark, metal tunnel-like hallway in a downward slant about a good thirty feet underground before I finally came to the light at the end. I emerged from the tunnel and entered what appeared to be a well-lit living room complete with a sofa, two love seats, a fireplace, and bookshelves. Diagonally from the entryway I entered from, in both directions, were two doors.

"Okay, now what", I asked myself as I darted back and forth trying to decide which door I was supposed to choose. It was then that I noticed that the screen on Killer Moth's drone had turned itself off as it just floated around the room aimlessly on its own.

"Ah, Wolfman", began Killer Moth as he entered the room from the door on my right. "Welcome to my humble abode", he continued as he motioned around the room with his left hand while offering me right hand. I rise to my hind legs and grasp his hand with my paw in response.

"Pleasure", I said simply.

"Allow me to show you around", he said as he lead me to the door on my left. I followed behind him on two legs for the sole purpose of showing off how human-like I could be in human form. We next room we entered was another living room, only this one had the lights dimmed a bit. Towards our left was the kitchen, not very big, but not tiny either. Towards the left of the kitchen was another door, which had no knob which told me that it was a swinging door, that had stains of red on it. At first I was alarmed as I had assumed that it was blood on the door. I then took a deep breath as I came to the realization that it was indeed blood on the door, but I calmed down once I realized that it was from the blood of an animal, probably a deer assuming Killer Moth often had Fang go out to hunt. I took another deep breath as I noticed what smelled like sour milk and raw eggs. This horrendous combination of smells led me to look towards me and Moth's right, towards the large three-part sofa that sat in front of a large t.v..

Reclined on her back, as each of the couch's three parts had a lever that kicked out the user's legs much like a recliner would, was a young lady around Robin, Starfire, and Raven's age, that is, around the age of 18 or 19, with short, blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing an extremely thin white t-shirt, so thin that even without my extra vision I could both see the outlines of her nipples and could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra, and a pair of teal leggings that she wore like pants.

 _Oh, she's one of_ them, I thought to myself in reference to the fact that women nowadays seem to prefer wearing leggings to actual pants. I also noticed that the shirt she wore was a few sizes too small as it only stretched down to right under her naked breasts, leaving her large belly, which showed her to be about a good six months pregnant, completely exposed. As for what I was smelling, she was eating a jar of mayonnaise with a spoon, with equally revolting table manners that made Beast Boy seem like a proper gent in comparison. In her lap was a half-eaten tub of ice cream with the scooper inside. The lid to the tub was seated next to her on top of two empty potato chips bags. _Disgusting_ , I thought to myself just as the woman polished off the mayonnaise jar and let out a gigantic belch as she let the spoon and jar drop to the floor.

"Daddy", she screamed with her eyes still locked onto the t.v..

 _So, this is the infamous Kitten_ , I thought to myself having recognized her screaming from when Killer Moth and I spoke on the edge of the cliff earlier.

"Yes, Dear", asked her father with a groan.

"Two words: peanut butter, tacos."

"Uh, that's three words, Kit—", began Moth before she interrupted him.

"NOW!"

"Ugh", groaned Moth. "Take it from me, Kid, never have kids", he said to me before retreating to the kitchen.

"I heard that", shouted Kitten as she turned towards us with her arm drawn back as if preparing to hurl the remote at us. She stopped when she made eye contact with me. "Oh, hello", she said suddenly with a smile.

"Kitten, meet the Wolfman", said Killer Moth from the kitchen behind me. I turned back to look at him as I noticed his voice sounded similar to how some parents sound whenever they try to pair up their children with eligible bachelors and bachelorettes that they, and not necessarily their children, find proper, attractive, or otherwise worthy.

 _That's not_ really _the reason you invited me here is it_ , I thought to myself as I looked at Killer Moth in suspicion. When I turned back around to introduce myself to Kitten, as her father had set the conversation up, I found that she had already made her way off of the couch and was standing right in front of me, only inches away from my face.

"Me-ow", she said flirtatiously as she clawed at the air.

 _I'm not liking where this is going_ , I thought to myself as I backed away from her awkwardly.

"Well, Wolfman, I'm Kitten", she continues as she offers me her hand with a purr as if expecting me to kiss it.

"Pleasure", I said to her and I grasped her hand. I had no intention of kissing it, but I still shook it as a gentleman would upon meeting a lady just the same. After all, I _was_ trying to stay on Killer Moth's good side, at least for the moment. Kitten then takes advantage of the fact that her hand was grasped in my paw and pulls herself into me.

"I could always share the pleasure", she whispered to me as she began tracing circles with her index finger in the fur on my chest. Upon seeing her behave in such a manner, especially considering that not only was I still in wolf form, but she still had yet to even see my human form, I had no trouble believing that she was carrying Fang's baby. I was just about to snap my jaws at her when another gentleman spoke out.

"For God's sake, Moth! Can't you keep that daughter of yours under wraps", said the skinny Brit as he entered from another door on the other side of the room. He wore a red, white, and blue jacket modeled after the British flag, a black shirt underneath, blue glasses, white skinny jeans, brown duck shoes, and a white ascot around his neck. His hair was dyed bright red, and he carried cane with a comically, large red jewel at the top of it.

"Whoa, it's a party", I said sarcastically upon recognizing the colorful villain immediately. With Kitten now distracted I took the liberty of stepping away from her completely.

"I've gotta say, Moth, I'm not entirely sure which is worse, the fact that you brought home a werewolf, or the fact that your daughter is trying to bring it to bed with her."

"Nobody asked you, so butt out, Old Man", shouted an angry Kitten.

"Sorry, Duckie, but I don't answer to children, too stupid and immature for my taste. It's not fair, I know, but 'tis the way the world works", he said in a condescending voice as he strutted around the two of us towards Killer Moth with his cane resting on his right shoulder.

"Thank you, Mod, that's quite enough", warned Killer Moth.

"Don't get snippy with me, you dung beetle", continued Mod in a still condescending yet calm voice. "I wouldn't have to say anything if you simply would. I'm not the one whose daughter has a hard-on for beastiality", he said as he rested his arm on the kitchen countertop that sat in the center of the kitchen. Killer Moth, who was standing on the other side, responds by flips over the counter and landing next to Mod, growling a bit as he did so.

"No, but you are the one who is a guest here, one who struggles understanding the concept of silence", said an irritated Killer Moth as he snatches away Mod's cane. He then tightens his grip on it as if threatening to break it.

"Touche, Gov'nor", replies Mod as he knocks his cane out of Moth's hand. "No harm done, eh, Old Chap", he asks as he catches his cane and puts an arm around Moth's shoulder.

"Just don't push your luck, Mod."

"Was there a point in you bringing me here, or should I give you two some privacy", I asked interrupting their little bromance. I was growing a tad impatient and irritated with the lot of them. The two villains responded by awkwardly pulling away from each other before continuing.

"*Clears throat, yes, well, Wolfman", began Killer Moth as he began to motion towards the Brit.

"I'm well up to speed at this point. You're Killer Moth, she's your daughter, Kitten, the giant web-crawler upstairs is your son-in-law, Fang, and this colorful, British yahoo is the equally as infamous Mad Mod. Is there anyone else you'd like me to meet down here?"

"Well aren't you the clever one, you little snot", asked Mad Mod. "That's just what this sorry bunch needed, another misbehaving child. This little mutt is not worth the trouble, not when we're so close."

"For once I agree with Mod", said Fang as entered the room with dead deer carcasses dragging behind him, including the one that had escaped earlier.

 _Poor guy_ , I thought to myself upon recognizing his dead body.

"I say we drop this mutt here and now", suggested Fang, now right by the edge of the couch closest to the door from the other room.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up, if one of you calls me "mutt" one more time—", I began as I jumped onto the back of the couch on all fours and walked over towards Fang.

"You'll do what, Dog Breath", asked Fang now getting in my face.

"Keep pushing and you'll end up like before."

"Feeling jumpy are we", said Fang as he snapped his pincers.

"Bring it, Six-Eyes", I said with a growl as my tail went erect.

"I sense conflict. Are you by chance in need of assistance", said the calming, monotoned voice coming from the door which Mad Mod entered from.

"Oh yeah, Wolfman, this is Fixit", said Moth as he motioned towards the stranger. He had the general shape of a human man, however the majority of his body was covered by two cloaks, one in the front of his body, and the other in the back, that were held together by the "collar plate" that stretched around his neck, collar bones, and shoulders. All that was exposed was his head, which was riddled with electrical wiring and technology, including his dark blue robot-like eyes. The only human part of his head was his face, which shockingly was still covered in human skin, though a pale bluish-gray color. The sides, back, and top of his head were designed like a helmet, and made of the same metal that the collar plate was made out of. I also noticed that in the center of his forehead was a sort of circular receptor with four trail-like patterns, two on each side, leading from it towards the back of his head and down his body, all of which glowed blue like his eyes.

"Probably off somewhere being useless as bloody usual", said Mod.

"I was tending to the swarm", responded Fixit in his robotic monotone. "My sensors indicated conflict, so I proceeded to investigate." I was very intrigued by this Fixit character, especially by his monotone. It was becoming obvious that Jump City had a lot of monotones living within the city borders, but Fixit's sounded a bit different. Whereas Raven's monotone was unnatural and was the result of her keeping a lid on her powers to protect herself and others, and the patrons from Gothic City had monotones indicating that had no interest in the world around them in general, Fixit's monotone sounded sort of sad and depressing, like he was in pain. "I also thought it'd be best to check the progression of the pregnancy. Sensors indicate that Young Kitten's hormonal levels have substantially increased due to the presence of an exposure of a new stimulus." Fang didn't take this news well as he lunged up and over me at Fixit with an angry shriek. Though Fixit initially falls backward trying to escape Fang's wrath, before he made contact with him, I managed to grab his two back spider legs and swing him back towards the doorway he originally entered from, shrieking in pain as he crashed into the wall.

"That's enough, Fang", scolded Moth.

"Stay away from my girl", shouted Fang to me, completely ignoring Moth.

"Say what?"

"You heard what I said!"

"Sensors do not indicate suggestions of mating from the werewolf", interjected Fixit.

"He might not have any, but she does!"

"What're you talking about, Dude?"

"Let me put it to you this way, I felt less threatened by you _before_ Kitten started staring at you." Upon hearing him say that, everyone, myself included, all turn to look at Kitten, who was indeed staring at me.

"Uh, Kitten", asked Killer Moth when it was noticed that she wasn't paying attention and continued to stare at me.

"Huh? Wha? Oh, I was just um, admiring….his werewolf….muscle structure", said Kitten awkwardly.

"Yeah, a particular part of his muscle structure", said a very pissed off Fang.

"What does _that_ mean", I asked him as I turned back to him, my back still turned to Kitten and Fixit. Though I asked as if I didn't know, a part of me had an idea as to what he meant.

"Well, that's just a matter of penis—", began Kitten. "I MEAN "OPINION"! "Opinion", yeah, that's what I meant".

"Real smooth", said Fang as I lowered my tail and closed my legs having confirmation as to what part of me Kitten was staring at.

"I really didn't need that image in my head, a pregnant woman and an ugly werewolf bumping uglies", began Mod.

"Shut up, Mod", warned Fang.

"What? I'm just saying it's a weird image. I mean do you blokes just go at it", began Mad Mod as he began asking me about my sex life. "Or do y'all like to play pretend and dress your birds up in little red hoods?"

"I said "Shut up, Mod"!"

"Okay, that's it", I exclaimed finally having grown uncomfortable with this conversation. I then leapt from the back of the couch to the kitchen counter, Changing as I did so as I landed as a snake once I reached the countertop. "Can we move thissss along pleasssse?"

"Kitten, you and Fang continue this conversation elsewhere", said Moth as he motioned towards the door closest to Fang. Kitten proceeds to walk by us towards the door, winking at me as she did so. She then exits the room, with Fang right behind her. "And as for you, Fixit, get back to tending to my swarm! And don't leave their side until they ship-shape, or it's back to the dump with you!"

 _Dude, that's totally harsh_ , I thought to myself in disbelief as Fixit had done nothing wrong. He admitted that he was doing what was told of him, but only stopped because he felt there was trouble. But sure enough, Fixit responded as if completely unfazed by Killer Moth's threats.

"Yes, Master Moth", he said with a bow before disappearing back through the door he entered from.

"As for us", began Killer Moth to me and Mad Mod, "we'd better head to the Control Room. He'll be expecting our call in any minute", he said as he made his way to the doorway that Fixit exited from. Mad Mod paused to question me again before taking off.

"So tell me, do you get tail often or are you what they call a "tiger in the cage"?" Offended yet again at his questioning of my sex life, I snap at him, causing him to jump a little. "Unbelievable! No respect for their betters! Kids these days—". I lunged at him with a roar as I Changed into my lion form to shut him up. Mad Mod Immediately took the hint and began walking towards the door after Moth. "Alright, alright, I'm going", groaned Mod as he opened the door and began to walk out. "Youngins thinking they're so high and mighty because of their superpowers—".

"Don't make me eat you", I warned him as I closed the door behind me with my tail as I walked out after him.


	2. Big Five

I followed Killer Moth and Mad Mod down a series of hallways, which I had to admit, was both concerning and yet impressive considering they were built by a team of villainous weirdoes, most of whom had bug fetishes, deep underground, in the middle of a field, in the middle of a forest, beyond a cliff with a waterfall, just outside of the city, which apparently was notorious for its unique assortment of colorful villains, in addition to the five teenagers that lived in a comically large tower that also acted as the town's last line of defense.

 _Geez, Box Elder seems boring as fuck in comparison to Jump City_ , I thought to myself as I looked around in awe at the maze of hallways. For once I was glad to be tagging along with Moth and Mod, because I felt that I would get lost in a maze this elaborate without the use of my Elemental abilities. After making several turns down several different hallways, we eventually came to one hall that ended with what I originally thought was a dead end. However, as we approached the end of the hall, the metal wall that stood before us was in actuality a pair of giant metal doors, which apparently had little to no effort put into them as far as them looking like doors. It was just a metal wall with the tiniest of openings in between the two doors that was so small that even I with my werewolf vision could just barely see up close. Before opening the doors, both villains stopped to look back at me.

"The man we are about to speak to is the man behind this entire operation, so please mind what you say", said Moth.

"In other words, don't say anything too stupid", added Mod. In response to Mod's bullshit I Changed into my bear form and rose to my hind legs.

"Just one more time, Mod", I warned as I grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him up to my face. "One more time, I dare you."

"What I believe you mean to say is, " _how_ dare you", he responds as he bonks me on the head with his cane. I growled at him in response as I slammed him into the metal doors behind him.

"Wolfman, down", commanded Moth. I paused for a moment, Mod still in my grasp, to look over at the mad scientist. "Down", he said again as he pointed his index finger downward.

 _No he didn't_ , I thought to myself hysterically upon realizing that he was giving me dog commands.

"Down, now", he repeated with a bit more aggression in his voice as he snapped his fingers at me. I was _very_ much tempted to swing my paw at him then and there, but the plan was to stay on Moth's good side, not piss him off, so as embarrassing as it was to take such degrading orders from him, I had to let Mod go.

"I don't eat junk food anyway", I mumbled as I reluctantly released Mad Mod from my paw, dropping him to the floor in the process.

"Junk Food? That's "Mad Mod" to you, Tubby", said a now pissed Mad Mod as he rose to hit feet and swung his cane at my face. Still on my hind legs, I awkwardly managed to hobble backwards a bit to dodge, growling at him again as I did so. "And you", began Mod as he pointed his cane at Moth, "you certainly took your sweet time!"

"Watch yourself, Mod. I may hold the leash, but the Wolfman's still a killer", said Moth as he began opening the metal doors via a pin code.

 _Huh, you wish_ , I thought to myself as I returned to all fours and Changed back into my wolf form. As the doors began to slide open and the three of us walked in, it was nothing but computers, and screens, and keyboards, and circuitry everywhere in that room. If I had to describe what the room looked like, my first reference would most likely be the control room of the Ice Cap Fortress from the first G. movie. Without hesitation, Moth immediately made his way over to the largest of the computers with the largest keyboard and screen and began typing away at it while Mod and I patiently waited. After a few moments of button pushing, the large screen began calling someone, almost like we were Skyping whoever it was they wanted me to meet.

"State your business", said the mystery man from a pitch black screen who I could tell had a bit of an Asian twist in his voice.

"Killer Moth and Mad Mod checking in on the final phase of our plan", said Moth. The computer screen then lights up as the mystery man revealed himself to us. Despite his bulky appearance, I could tell he was a very skinny Asian man, who just happened to be wearing a very large lab suit. His suit was white and had a built-in, skintight hood that covered his entire head except for his face like spandex. His suit also had some form of a metal harness around his neck and shoulders, and on his eyes he wore a pair of metal, heavy-looking goggles, which to me kinda looked like those viewer things that tourists use after depositing a few quarters into it. Aside from that, not much was revealed about his appearance due to him being reduced to a Skype-like headshot.

"I was unaware that we were even considering the final phase at this point", said the Asian scientist man.

"Join the club", added Mad Mod as he looked over at Moth suspiciously. "What's this all about, Moth?"

"We attack tomorrow", said a dramatic Killer Moth.

"What", asked the other two villains hysterically and simultaneously.

"Well this escalated quickly", I muttered sarcastically, though concerned for Jump City.

"You cannot be serious, Moth", continued the scientist. "Those monstrosities of yours cannot be controlled."

"Not without an Alpha they couldn't. Fortunately we have one now", replied Moth.

"Hang on, this beastie behind you? That's your big play", asked Mod.

 _The fuck_ , I asked myself being just as lost as the others were, though it took every ounce of my being to not say it out loud. Despite my confusion I needed to stay confident and sure of myself.

"Who is that young werewolf behind you", asked the scientist as he leaned into the camera as if trying to get a better look at me. Confident that Moth would do my introduction for me, on account of the fact that he already saw me as a possession of his in addition to being one of his minions, I simply stepped forward without saying anything.

"This is the Wolfman, our newest asset."

" _Asset"? That's a new one_ , I thought to myself having never been referred to as "asset" before.

"And you think _he_ can control your moths", asked the scientist, now suspicious of Killer Moth. It was then that I remembered that Raven had mentioned something about Killer Moth using a swarm of killer super moths during one of his attacks on Jump City.

"Ah, what's a few moths", I asked in a cocky manner as if I new what I was getting myself into.

"Huh, and I thought _I_ was mad", said Mod. "A little pup like you, leading a flock of flying killing machines? You'll be nothing but bones in a matter of seconds. On second thought, perhaps we _should_ let him give it a go" he added as he looked back at the others.

"Sir, I believe we've come to an agreement", I said to the scientist guy.

"Chang", he corrected me. " _Professor_ Chang. And I do not answer to you."

"No, but you do to me", challenged Moth.

"Excuse me? Last time I checked it was _my_ technology and _my_ experiments that revived your swarm of abominations in the first place!"

"You mean the serum that _you_ added to the Big Five's genetic code that makes them abnormally aggressive and untamable", countered Moth.

"He's got you there, Chang", added Mod. Professor Chang growls in response having no witty remarks.

"As I said, we will attack tomorrow. So I trust that you'll be ready by then."

"Fine, Moth. I shall send my soldiers into position immediately, there they will wait for your command."

"Understood."

"However, when you fail, I'm taking command with Plan B", added Chang with an evil grin.

"That was never agreed upon", challenged Moth.

"True, but it wasn't a request either", said Chang before he hung up, ending the call before Killer Moth could retort. Irritated at Chang's audacity slams his fist on his keyboard, causing it to short-circuit in the process as it began smoking a little.

"Well, that went well", said Mad Mod, sarcastically.

"Can it", exclaimed an angry Killer Moth with his back still turned to us.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat", began Mad Mod, completely ignoring him, "but I've got a bit of prep work to do for tomorrow. We've got a big day ahead of us, you know", he added as he began to head out the double doors behind us.

"Hold it, Mod. You're not going anywhere just yet."

"Oh? And why the bloody Hell not, might I ask?"

"Because your showing our new Alpha to the Big Five's containment unit", he said as he turned around and headed towards the doorway.

"And where the deuce do you think your going?"

"I have a swarm to tend to, and a robot to punish if he angers me again", said Moth as he continued his path out of the room and down the hall towards wherever Fixit and the swarm were.

 _Hope he's okay_ , I thought to myself, concerned about Fixit's inevitable treatment from Moth.

"Oh, of all the—, ugh", grumbled Mod. "Come on, Dog", he said to me as he marched out of the room in a bit of a mood himself. I growled at him in response. "Ah, shut up, you", he said unfazed by me. He then led me down a few more hallways until we reached a round, metal room with a large, circular design in the center on the floor that looked like it opened up. The room kinda reminded me of Loki's prison onboard S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ship in "Avengers". We walked up to it as Mod said, "have a look-see", as he pushed a button on his cane. The floor then opened up to reveal another room down below, but the opening now had a see-through barrier blocking the hole from the room, almost like glass. The room was pitch black with no light in it at all.

"So uh, what am I looking at", asked him.

"Give it a minute", he said. It was then that a light kicked on. The light was from a giant bulb in the floor of the room below, which was big enough and strong enough to light up the entire room, which I discovered was simply a large white room, almost like those padded rooms you see in prisons and mental asylums, except without the padded walls. There was absolutely nothing in that room in fact, except for the Big Five, which I immediately learned was referring to five incredibly large moths, that immediately swarmed around the light bulb upon it turning on.

"Ho-ly shit", I accidentally let slip out upon discovering how big these fuckers really were.

"Is there a problem, Duckie?"

"You know", I began getting irritated once again by Mod's bullshit, "I bet even British people don't like you." He growled a little when he couldn't think of a response. "So do these guys have names?"

"Geez, you're just like Moth. "Do they have names", they're big bugs!"

"You can call them whatever you want, but it doesn't take away from the fact that these bugs are alive", I said to him with a growl, offended by his attitude towards the moths. Even though I was certain that they were dangerous, they were still animals. Actually they were now mutants, and as such they were living creatures just like me and Mod. It was neither their fault nor their choice that they were born the way they were, and I resented Mod looking down at them for it. "Now do they have names or not?" He hesitated before answering.

"Their wings."

"What?"

"Look at their wings", he said as he pointed down at them in the white room, which was a good thirty foot drop from where we were standing. "They're color-coded." It was then I noticed that each moth, whose base color all consisted of a brownish gray, all had different colored stripes on their wings that separated each one from the other four. "You've got the blue one there, Grinder", began Mod as he pointed out the respective Moth.

"Grinder", I asked as I looked at him.

"What? You think I named these sorry rats with wings?"

"Watch yourself", I growled at him. He continued roll call as if ignoring my warning.

"The purple one is Killer, the yellow one is Jiant with a "J"…."

"I won't ask."

"The red one is Nightmare, and the green one is Lethal. Apparently he is the "Beta" of the swarm, whatever that means.

"It means if I'm to be the supposed "Alpha" of this swarm, I should start with him."

"Sounds like you've got a plan then", said Mad Mod as he appeared to be starting to walk away. "In that case, let's not waste any time." Before I could even process what he had said, he pushed another button, which took away the glass-like shield blocking the hole in the floor. He then ambushed me from behind and pushed me in. I managed to grab the ledge with the claws of one of my back paws, but just barely as I hung there, struggling to pull myself up.

"What the Hell are you doing?"

"What's it look like? This is why Moth brought you here after all. Either you train these lost causes, or they have themselves a nice meal and we try again later. It's a win-win", he says finally as he kicks away my claws with his foot. "Have fun, Kiddies", he calls to me with a cackle as he seals the hole above me. Still hesitant to use any of my Elemental abilities (I assumed that Killer Moth had his watchful eye on all of his prized moths somehow), I allow myself to continue to fall, resulting in me landing on top of one of the moths, specifically the red one. In response to my intrusion, the five moths all stop whatever they were doing are glare at me, including the one I was currently on top of as he turned his head back at me.

" _Uh, hi"_ , I say to them nervously in the hope that despite their mutated upbringing, I was still able to communicate with them as I would any other animal. The moths all responded with a unified hiss. _"My name is Wolfman, and I was sent down here to—"_ , I began before the blue one interrupted me with another hiss. _"Okay, okay, my name's probably not important right now. Let's start with your names instead. Your name was, "Nightmare" I believe?"_ The red moth hisses in response. _"Oh no, wait, you're Nightmare, and you're Grinder"_ , I corrected myself as I spoke to the red and blue moths respectively. Still angry at me, they moved in closer, allowing me to see up close how big they all were. They were all about four feet tall, and eight feet long. On all sixes, these moths were taller than I was on all fours. _"And you're Jiant, and you're Killer"_ , I continued naming them in an attempt to win them over peacefully.

It was at this point that Nightmare had had enough of me riding on his back as he bucked me off, which resulted in me flying forward and landing on the green moth's back. I turn to see the green moth looking back at me, just as angry as the other moths.

" _Hello, Lethal"_ , I said with a canine whine as I waved nervously at him. Lethal, now incredibly pissed at me, starts flapping his wings as he lets out an angry shriek. I quickly turn and grab his two antennae in time as he takes off like a bat out of Hell, his four companions flying right behind us.


	3. Alpha Moth

As Lethal began flying at full speed around the room trying to throw me off of his back, the other moths, whenever they got close enough, would try biting at my arms and legs.

"Mod, if I survive this, I'm gonna kill you", I shout out loud as if expecting him to hear me as Lethal then decided to take a spiral-like nosedive into the floor. He was hoping that I would either be thrown off by his spiral movements, or jump off of him at the last minute to avoid the crash. Unfortunately for him, I did neither. Instead I pulled back on his two antennae as if I were controlling a plane (at least that's how they do it in movies). Lethal shrieked for a moment in response to the sudden pain I inflicted on him, and then straightened up as he began to fly wildly around the room as he did before. "Ha, nice try", I said to him feeling a little cocky for outsmarting him. It was then that Karma decided to be the bitch that she is as Nightmare rammed straight into Lethal from underneath, which caught us both off-guard, to the point where not only did I lose my grip on Lethal, but both he and I plummeted to the ground below.

"Fuck you, Karma", I said with a groan as I picked myself up off the ground. It was then that Nightmare, now on the ground with us, began charging at me with his teeth bared. With six legs propelling him at me, he was quick, despite his husky size. When he got close enough to sink his teeth into me, he tries biting at me. In response to this, I Change into my bear form and catch his teeth in my paws. _"Settle down! Calm down, Nightmare"_ , I tried reasoning to him as I attempted to push him backwards. Nightmare responded by flapping his wings as he pushed back, giving him enough of a boost to begin pushing me backwards as I struggled to use the claws on my back paws to keep myself in place. What saved me from being completely overpowered, much to my surprise, was Lethal, who didn't appreciate Nightmare's sneak attack as he rammed into his side, causing a fight between them to break out.

I then turn to run to another side of the white room, Changing back into Lobomon as I did so, but my objective was interrupted by the familiar sensation of something biting my tail. As I roared in pain, I then found myself being lifted into the air by one of the other three moths. The one that held me in his teeth was flying towards the other two, Grinder and Killer, which told me that Jiant was the one that was biting me. Before I could even think of how to avoid being eaten, Grinder rushes over to us and bites down on the scruff of my neck. He then tries to yank me out of Jiant's mouth, as Jiant responds by yanking back. It was basically how two dogs would play tug-of-war with one another if both happened upon the same piece of rope, except that I was the rope, and the two dogs were instead two giant mutated moths. I whined a canine whine in response to the two behemoths fighting over me, as it was becoming very painful at my expense. Grinder's teeth were tolerable for the moment as he was merely biting into the scruff of my neck. Jiant on the other hand, was pulling on my tail so hard that a part of me feared that he was going to tear it off.

When I couldn't take the pain anymore, I let out a frustrated roar as I tracted the claws on my back paws and then kicked them at Jiant's face. Immediate relief washed over my tail as Jiant released his grip on it in response to my claws scratching across his face. Jiant responded with a frustrated shriek, but I couldn't help but notice that it sounded more whiny then angry. Grinder then shook his head vigorously with me still in his grip, again, much like a dog with a rope or a toy. He then dashed away as Jiant gave chase, trying to get his "toy" back. By this point, Nightmare and Lethal had ended their fight and joined in the fun as they hovered nearby, positioning themselves to where the two of them and Grinder had made a small circle, with Jiant in the middle, as one by one, they began tossing me to one another as Jiant frantically tried his best to intercept me from the air before one of the other three moths could catch me. These moths went from treating me like a rope, to treating me like a ball within a matter of minutes as they were essentially playing "Keep Away" with each other at my expense.

 _Oh, I don't believe this_ , I thought to myself as I was now pissed off as I flew back and forth between each moth. Eventually one of the moths throws me high into the air, where an eager Killer was waiting for me as he rushes towards me. Jiant, still desperate to get his toy back, zooms up towards me in a last-minute attempt to snatch be back. "Enough", I shout with a roar as I drew my fist back. I then used my werewolf strength, once Killer was close enough, to punch the top of his head as hard as I could. The purple moth shrieks in pain as he plummets towards the ground below, crashing into Jiant in the process, which in turn caused him to crash into the ground as well. The other three moths simply hovered where they were for a moment, shocked at my sudden strike against their two companions, giving me just enough time to land back onto the ground as I prepared for their retaliation.

Once they had recovered and rose back onto their feet, Killer and Jiant joined the other moths in a unified angry hiss at me as they slowly moved closer and closer towards me, as if they were wolves cornering their prey up against a wall. It was at this point that I grew tired of being submissive. The time for diplomacy was over, now it was time to fight. I responded to their hissing by pounding on my chest for a moment and then letting out a loud roar, Changing once again into Lobomon as I did so. I then returned to all fours and began clawing at the ground with one of my paws as if I were a bull or a relative of a bull "hoofing" at the ground before preparing to charge at my opponents. It didn't matter that the herbivorous gesture didn't match my individual species, or that the moths were ignorant to most other animals due to their secluded lives of isolation and experimentation, their animal instincts knew full well that my gesture was just a fancy way of saying, "come get some".

As expected, the moths eagerly accepted my challenge, the first of whom being Nightmare, who I quickly discovered was the true brawler of the bunch. Again, he rushes in with his sharp teeth bared, and just like before, I catch them in my paws, as his attacking style was becoming a tad predictable at this point. Nightmare liked to rush in head-first, his intentions being to over-power his opponents, while at the same time, having no fear of the possibility of a counterattack. On one hand this was a foolish trait for Nightmare to have, especially considering that Nightmare and his companions were swarming insects, and therefore are at their strongest, at least in theory, when they attack as a unit, but on the other hand, considering that moths in the wild go to great lengths to avoid conflict with most other animals, it was pretty ballsy for one, even a giant one, to storm ahead of the swarm and attack a mystery enemy head-on as Nightmare did. This allowed me to gain some respect for Nightmare as his unusual sense of courage, along with the coloring of his stripes on his wings reminded me greatly of a hot-headed tiger I'd known ever since he was a cub.

" _Not, this, time"_ , I growled at Nightmare as this time I managed to push him backwards, still in wolf form mind you, despite Nightmare once again flapping his wings trying to overpower me for a second time. He had gotten the better of me last time, but this time, I was ready for him, not to mention pissed to no end. It was at this point that Jiant, still whiny and frustrated, charges in from my right flank. Anticipating contact, I swing Nightmare by his teeth towards my right, releasing him as he slams into Jiant. With those two wincing in pain for a moment, I turned my attention to Lethal, who was leading Grinder and Killer in an organized attack plan as indicated by how they zoomed past me one by one in choreographed flight pattern. I also found this impressive once I realized that they weren't trying to attack me and were just missing me as I stepped out of the way, they were boxing me in, cutting off any chances of escape. Lethal was more concerned with keeping me still, as opposed to defeating me. Upon realizing that, I look back over at Nightmare and Jiant, who had just recovered from my last attack, which told me that Lethal, Grinder, and Killer were simply stalling for time while their friends recovered.

In response to this, with a little help from some _really_ lucky timing, I managed to grab onto one of Grinder's legs as he flew by me. The blue moth, now in a slight panic due to not expecting me to grab him, takes a page out of Lethal's book and frantically flies off. This once again, resulted in the other four moths storming after us. As expected, Nightmare, once again being the first to react, storms at us from underneath with the intent of ramming into Grinder just as he did to Lethal earlier. What was different this time was the fact that I was grabbing onto the Grinder as opposed to vice versa, putting me in a more adaptable position. At the last minute, I swing from Grinder's leg just as Nightmare collides into him. I then manage to land on Killer's back, which immediately led Killer to try and buck my off. It was during this ordeal that I noticed something on the far wall in the distance of the room. Up towards the top, a few feet underneath the ceiling was a round part of the wall that looked like some sort of dome-like bulb.

 _Why does that look familiar_ , I thought to myself as my werewolf instincts kicked in yet again and slowed everything down around me. It took me a minute, but eventually I recognized what I was looking at.

It was indeed a dome-like bulb, but what was familiar about it was that I usually ever saw them in shopping malls or other types of shopping areas that had security cameras. They usually sat on the ceiling and were painted pitch-black so that you couldn't see inside, and therefore couldn't tell when and what the camera inside was focussing on. What stood out about this one, was that it was painted white, most likely to camouflage it into the wall, which to its credit, worked just fine considering that I got extremely lucky in spotting it, and there was no way a naked human eye, even if they did manage to locate the bulb, could see that inside were nine cameras, each one pointing in a different direction. This was yet another one of Killer Moth's concerning yet impressive tactics as this was a clever way of instilling the false hope of privacy for whoever happened to be in the room at the time. The bulb's white color made it damn near impossible to spot, the tinted glass made it to where you would assume that there was simply one camera within as opposed to nine, making it difficult to avoid being seen, even if you could predict the camera movements, the cameras were positioned so high above the ground that even couldn't reach it without flying, or at the very least attracting attention to myself, and this was all in addition to the fact that I was currently tangling with five giant mutated moths.

 _I'm_ really _glad I didn't use any of my Elemental powers yet_ , I thought to myself as I had been tempted to Change into my armored form for a while now. The world around me resumed normal speed as I noticed Jiant rushing towards me and Killer. It was then that I noticed that Jiant was positioned with the cameras directly behind him, giving me the perfect opening to get rid of them. _"Time to go"_ , I growled as I grabbed Killer's antennae and tugged them forward. Killer shrieked in pain as he rushed full speed into Jiant, as instructed by the direction of my tugging. He tucks his head as he slams into Jiant's underbelly, but I wouldn't allow him to slow down as I tugged even harder on his antennae in the exact same direction. Obligated to follow me commands due to the pain, Killer continues to push Jiant backwards as I led the two of them into the camera bulb. I wince for a moment from the impact of the three of us crashing into the wall, destroying the bulb in the process as the nine cameras and broken glass then fell to the floor.

Killer, having received most of the pain, then plummets to the ground, causing me to leap from his back at the last minute, landing on all fours. Jiant then dives towards the ground as well, but for a different reason. The yellow brute suddenly became interested in the tiny cameras and all of the loose wiring that hung from them as he began stuffing his face with them. It was then that I realized Jiant's role in the swarm. Lethal was the Beta, Nightmare was the brawler, Grinder was the mischievous, yet evasive one, Killer was the patient (though I use that word loosely) one that only acted whenever the situation called for it, and Jiant was the sort of baby of the family as he tended to whine and act on impulse in comparison to the others, and that included Nightmare's hot-headed and reckless nature.

 _Finally, some privacy_ , I think to myself in response to Jiant's appetite obliterating Killer Moth's only means of spying on me. It was then that I noticed another angry shriek coming from overhead. I turned to see Lethal shrieking down at me.

" _Fight! Fight now"_ , he shrieked at me. I hesitated for a moment in response. With the moths being completely silent (in the sense that they said nothing other than a series of untranslatable shrieks up until this point) upon my meeting them, I was under the assumption that they couldn't speak. It turns out that they could, though they were very articulate apparently. _"Fight! We fight now"_ , he repeated. In response to this, the other four moths all stopped what they were doing and look in my direction. Once again, I was amazed at how much these individuals differed from other moths. Among other things, it was interesting that these moths had developed a swarm with each other, as moths aren't really known for swarming, except maybe under a lightbulb. That said, the swarm these moths had formed was more closely related to a wolf pack. Though both swarms and packs attacked as a unit, what made these five moths a pack and not a swarm was their sense of restraint. Though impulse and instinct led them to attack me individually prior to this moment, the other moths did recognize and respect Lethal's role as their leader as they patiently sat on the sidelines while he challenged me to an honorable one-on-one fight for dominance. This was also made evident when Lethal organized his previous triple attack with the help of Grinder and Killer. _"Up! Up! Fight me! Up"_ , Lethal continued.

Despite the lack of a flowing speaking voice, a large vocabulary, and the fact that he was a moth, Lethal was actually pretty intelligent. Despite him never actually saying a full sentence, his message was clear. He was saying, "get up here and fight me". That alone isn't too impressive, until you stop and realize that Lethal, in theory, should have no idea that I have the ability to fly, nor should he assume that I have the ability as he had just met me that day, and I was purposely restraining myself from using my Elemental abilities, including my non-"normal" animal forms. However, having witnessed me Change back and forth between a wolf and a bear, Lethal both predicted and anticipated that I could Change into a flying animal, and was preparing himself to fight me once I Changed into said animal.

In response to his challenge, I roar at him, as if confirming whether or not he truly wanted to fight. Lethal responded by shrieking back at me. The other four moths then began to chime in as they, too began to shriek.

" _Fight! Fight! Fight"_ , they all shrieked as if they were a group of school children. At this point, Lethal had earned my full respect, so I responded by honoring his request.

" _Lobomon armor-digivolve to…. Gizamon"_ , I said in a growl as I took to the air to meet Lethal face-to-face. With nobody else in the room other than the moths, and Killer Moth having no way to spy on us anymore, I had nothing to hide. Though the four moths below us seemed a bit stunned at the sight of a flying wolf, Lethal was in no way surprised to see Gizamon, as he continued to challenge me with another shriek. I replied with another growl as we began circling one another in midair. After a few moments of intense silence, the two of us take off like rockets toward each other as our battle began. Once we made contact with each other, the two of us immediately begin snapping our jaws at one another, sinking our teeth into each other's skin every so often as we each frantically tried to put the bite on our opponent while at the same time avoiding their teeth. Eventually, Lethal clamps his jaws down onto my abdomen. Once he had me there, he decided to keep me there as he then begins to shake his head vigorously. Desperate to break free, I reach up and begin to claw at his face, expecting him to release me just as Jiant had earlier. Much to my surprise and my dismay as I noticed that Lethal refused to give up his grip on me as he completely ignored the many slashes I made to his face. It was then that I decided to switch up my game plan as I began punching his face instead. Lethal, now having endured as much pain as possible, finally releases me from his jaws, allowing me to escape, though my abdomen was in severe pain due to his sharp teeth and was bleeding.

Before Lethal could make another move, I flew above him and shot downward with my right elbow sticking towards him. I then proceeded in delivering a massive pile-driver move on him as I drove him into the ground below onto his stomach. Lethal let out a groan as he laid on his stomach, but I had one more point to get across. I then lifted Lethal over my head and let out another roar, pretending for a moment that I was Tarzan lifting up Sabor's dead body and presenting it to an awed audience. My display of power worked as the other four moths stared in both respect and fear as they witnessed me overpowering their Beta, thereby acknowledging that I was their Alpha. I knew that Lethal had accepted me as his Alpha as well as he could've very easily flapped his wings and flown away as I lifted him up over me. Instead, he decided to stay where he was, allowing me to assert my dominance over him. Once I felt my point was made, I give Lethal a small toss, throwing him onto his side. I wait for the exhausted green moth to rise to his feet before I approach him. I then took the time to spell it out for him one more time in a way I was certain that he'd understand.

" _Me, Alpha"_ , I said with another growl as I rose to my hind legs for a brief moment and pounded on my chest again. _"Lethal, Beta."_

" _No! Lethal no Beta! Lethal no Beta"_ , said Lethal, now seemingly more irritated than just a moment ago. I returned to speaking normally to him in response to this sudden outburst.

" _What do you mean, "Lethal no Beta"? If you're not the Beta, than who is?"_

" _No! Am Beta"_ , he began again as he took to the air. _"Lethal no Beta! Lethal no Beta!"_ Lethal then began flying in circles overhead. The other four moths responded by joining Lethal in flying in circles in a single-file line overhead. It was then that I finally realized what Lethal was referring to.

"Duh", I said as I facepalmed myself, having returned to my human form at this point, with the exception of my wolf ears. "God, I'm stupid!" I had just noticed that the five moths all had pitch-black underbellies, except to Lethal, whose underbelly was white. I also noticed that in comparison to the other four moths, Lethal was slightly smaller than the others. "You don't like the name, "Lethal", do you? Because you're a girl, aren't you?", I called up to the moths. Lethal responded by immediately rushing down and tackling me, as I had hesitated having been unprepared for the moth's response. With the moth pinning me onto my back, Lethal then began biting at my shirt and shaking it as if a giant playful puppy and not a moth. It was then that I noticed a cheerful look in Lethal's eyes, having appreciated the fact that I acknowledged that she was indeed a female moth. "I'll take that as a hard "yes"", I said sarcastically as I petted the side of the moth's face. "Okay, um, how about, "Lola"?" The moth then takes to the air again and begins flying around wildly in hyperactive excitement.

" _Lola Lola Lola Lola Lola Lola Lola Lola"_ , she repeated over and over again, which told me that she liked the new name. Lola then flew back down towards me, though she waited until I had just picked myself up off the ground, only to tackle me again.

"I think I should've named you, "Bayleef"", I said sarcastically to Lola as if I expected her to understand my reference.

" _Lola Lola Lola"_ , she repeated again just before she playfully nipped at me again. It was clear that she liked me at this point as her bites were in no way painful despite her sharp teeth. Her biting was innocently gentle as she was only playing with me.

"Okay, okay, I like you, too", I chuckled to her, unable to keep a straight face anymore. The others responded by flying down to us and joining in on the fun as the other moths also began playfully nipping at me. "Guys, cut it out", I chuckled again as I struggled to free myself from the giant moths, who at this point were more like a group of oversized puppies. It was then that the moths heard a noise.

" _Master"_ , shouted Lola as she and the others retreated to the air and began flying around wildly. I immediately learned what they were referring to when I heard the mechanical sounds of the ceiling/floor above beginning to open again. I responded by Changing back into Lobomon again to conceal my human form. Once the opening was completely open, Killer Moth descended from above, showing off his moth-like wings once again.

"Sorry for the interruption", began Moth. "Just wanted to see how you were progressing in taming these five." I knew right away that his answer was bullshit. If he wanted to check for progress, he could've waited until some significant time had passed and then checked on us. The only reason he was there was because Jiant ate his security cameras less than ten minutes ago. "Seems like I've come at the perfect time", continued Moth. I then noticed some aggression in his voice. "Looks to me like you're beginning to slack, Wolfman."

"On the contrary. I've already managed to tame your so-called Big Five", I said confidently, though slightly worried. Though I _was_ successful in earning the moths' respect, particularly Lola's, I hadn't had any chance to work with them, so my statement, while technically true, was in reality a huge bluff.

"Is that so", asked Moth as he pulled out what looked like a metal baton, though smaller than most. He then pushed a button on it, which resulted in a long stream of energy sort of "extending" from it. It took me a moment, but I soon learned that it was a whip that Killer Moth was holding, in fact it was identical to the energy the masked men used to restrain and capture Adryen. Upon seeing the whip I couldn't help but growl. "Relax, Wolfman. This isn't for you." Moth then flicks and cracks the whip up at the moths, the closest one to it being Lola. "Come, Lethal!" Upon hearing her rejected name, Lola shrieks angrily at Moth. "I said, "Come"", he repeats as he cracks the whip again, this time striking Lola as he did so.

"Knock it off", I shouted at him impulsively with a roar.

"What did you just say to me", challenged Moth.

"Knock it off, Moth", I said more calmly as I tried to recover from my sudden outburst. "I already made record time taming these moths, I don't need you screwing it up." I immediately regretted saying that to him as I had just realized how arrogant it came off as. As expected, Moth did not take it well.

"You don't talk like that to me", he shouted as he cracked the whip at my paws, I rose to my hind legs in response to this. Upon seeing Killer Moth crack his whip at me, Nightmare let out an angry shriek as he immediately begins to rush at him. I Changed into my bear form and growled at him in response to this. Upon hearing my outburst, Nightmare stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me. Killer moth, stunned by Nightmare's oncoming attack also stops and stares in awe. With Nightmare looking me dead in the eye, I simply shook my head at him. Nightmare then backed away from Killer Moth and rejoined the others in the air above. I look back at Killer Moth to see that he was still frozen in awe at how I handled Nightmare. I took advantage of the situation immediately.

"As you can see, the moths and I have an understanding. As you wished, they have accepted me as their Alpha, and as their Alpha, I will be the one who commands them."

"That's cute, Kid. But it seems to me that you've gotten a little too comfortable with me. You seem to have forgotten that I am your master, and you are to follow _my_ orders." It was at this point that I snapped again. I had had quite enough of Moth's egotistical bullshit. Again, as far as he knew, I was _volunteering_ my help for his cause. I had no obligation to tame his moths, assist his plans, or help him take over the city. I was actively choosing to be there with him, and he was in no way the boss of me, especially considering the way he bitched out whenever confronted by his own daughter. Besides, taking the whole authority aspect of the situation out of the equation, in addition to infiltrating Moth's base and ruining his plans in order to protect the city, I was also taking it upon myself at this point to protect Moth's prisoners, too, those being Lola, Nightmare, Grinder, Jiant, Killer, as well as Fixit, too. Despite being untamable up until that moment, it was obvious that the moths still feared their creator, so as long as I was around, I would do my best to shield them from him. If Killer Moth still wanted the help he thought I was going to provide, then he was going to have to listen to me.

"Wrong again, Moth. You may have created these moths, but you cannot control them, and that little toy of yours hasn't helped you in the least. Why should I take orders from you, when you're so desperate to control your own creations that you need me to do it for you? Without me, you have no hope of having the Big Five battle ready by tomorrow. If you want my help in taking over Jump City than you'll listen to me." Killer Moth then begins to approach me slowly, dragging his energy whip on the ground as he did so. I could hear Lola and the others growing restless in response to this, but I lifted my paw at them to reassure them and keep them where they were. Killer Moth, once he was close enough, looks up at me and stares, completely unfazed by the fact that I towered over him as a bear. We stood there like that for an awkward moment of silence, which was finally broken by Moth, once again chuckling.

"You've got spunk, Wolf. A whole lotta spunk", he says as he deactivates his whip. Upon seeing him do so, I returned to my wolf form, but remained on two legs upon doing so. He then puts his arm around my shoulder and begins leading me to the hole in the ceiling. "Come, Wolfman. Tonight we celebrate the fall of Jump City, and the destruction of those wretched Titans." Once we were directly underneath the hole, he pulls me against him tightly as he flies us up and out of the room. As the floor closed behind us and we landed on the floor, I immediately break away from Moth and begin brushing myself off, as the lift up was an uncomfortably awkward ride.

"So now what", I asked him having finished brushing myself off.

"Now, we eat", he responded as he tried to reach his arm around me again. At this point I had had all the weird touching I could take for one day. I responded to his suggested movement towards me by dropping to all fours and heading towards the hallway.

"Sweet! About time", I said sarcastically trying to draw his attention away from me dissing him. Moth simply chuckles in response as he flies ahead of me, leading me back to the dining room where his associates were waiting for us.


	4. Coming Soon

As I laid on the floor, curled up against the moths, specifically Lola, I struggled desperately to sleep. My eyes were closed, I was curled up in a dark room (the giant lightbulb was off) in a circle made up of giant moths, each one with a coat of warm fur, and my belly was full from dinner, yet I tossed and turned due to my brain unable to keep quiet. I thought about the dinner I had with Killer Moth's band of misfit villains, which quiet literally consisted of everyone raiding random food from the kitchen for themselves. I had side-stepped around the chaos by stealing one of the dead deer carcasses from the room with the bloody double doors.

I also thought about the news coverage we watched on t.v. of the press conference that the newswoman from earlier had promised the police would have. I remembered feeling worried about it for two reasons. The first reason was that, if the police were correct in getting their facts, they would reveal the _real_ reason why I killed Daniels, thus ruining the image I made for myself in the eyes of Killer Moth. The other reason was that, if the police managed to uncover all the details of Daniels' death, then there would probably be backlash on Raven as well.

My fears of this was totally justified as the Chief of Police of Jump City revealed that they discovered the blood of five individuals at the scene of the crime, suggesting either that there were two more victims that had yet to be discovered, or that there were two murderers, which technically is accurate. It was also revealed that they were in possession of the four switchblades that Daniels had on him, but none of that compared to the other piece of evidence they found. Among the pools and stains of blood in the street next to the bodies, were several bloody paw prints. I remember facepalming myself upon the Police Chief revealing photographs of the prints to the public. Not that I was 100% proud of being a killer, but I had killed long enough to know better than to be so sloppy.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid_ , I scolded to myself in my head as I tossed and turned trying to tune out my own thoughts. _I basically screwed over Raven, and maybe Beast Boy, too_ , I thought in reference to the paw prints the police had found. _This whole infiltration plan is stupid, even if it works, there's no way the Titans will trust me again._

 _Are you not as confident now as you were when we last met_ , asked an already _way_ too familiar voice. It was then that what was once the darkness of the backs of my eyelids began to disappear as the infamous white light appeared once again in its place. When the light disappeared and I came to, I was still in my wolf form, standing on all fours in the middle of a frozen lake.

 _Nice_ , I thought to myself sarcastically as I focussed on not making any sudden movements. I took a look around at my surroundings. Instead of returning to the weird outer space dimension like the previous times, I was on a frozen lake in the middle of a winter forest somewhere under an evening sky. There was ice and snow everywhere you looked. I looked back down at the ice under my paws. I let out a small sigh of relief as the ice was so thick that I couldn't even see the water underneath it, which let me know that it was safe to walk to shore.

I didn't make it halfway across when out of nowhere, as if _anything_ was ever to be expected whenever the cloaked woman took me anywhere, a t-rex-sized raven emerges from the trees in front of me. I stopped where I was and stood completely still as the extremely large bird poked its head out from the trees and cocked her head to the side as her gaze darted at her surroundings in multiple directions, much like any normal bird would do. I then started cautiously walking backwards, my ears and tail lowered as I hoped my submissive look would keep the bird at bay. I jumped a little when the raven flapped her wings and hopped a few paces forward towards the ice in front of her.

 _Nice raven. Good raven. Please ignore me_ , I thought to myself as I began stalking over towards the shore to my right as I dared not move forward any further. I froze in place again when the raven focussed her attention on me, as her random head movements had ceased as she stared right at me. Without even thinking, my tail and ears stick up due to my uncertainty. I wasn't sure if the raven was just curious, or if she was eyeballing her next meal. Considering the tables had turned and it was the wolf that was the smaller animal in this scenario, it could've been either one.

I didn't have to think too much about the raven's motives though as she and I both brought our attention to the mysterious storm overhead in response to the sudden crash of thunder. Under normal circumstances, this would already be a slight cause of alarm for me, as I, despite all logic or common sense, including the fact that I had the power to bend the element of light at will, therefore making electricity no actual threat to me, had a fear of lightning. However, in addition to the fact that I was trapped in a dream with a giant raven eyeballing, it was clear that this wasn't a normal circumstance as the storm clouds above were a dark, crimson red, as was the lightning that sparked from them.

"Great, just fucking great. Anything else you'd care to throw at me", I shouted out loud directing my question to the cloaked woman. Though I wasn't certain that I'd get a response from her, or perhaps the dove or Kendall, the response I _did_ get shocked me to my core. In response to my question, was a the sound of loud laughter, a very deep, menacing, and demonic kind of laughter, that seemed to be coming from the storm. "Your honor, I wish to retract my last statement", I said both sarcastically and nervously as my tail and ears lowered once again, this time due to fear. There was something frighteningly familiar about that laughter, and the fact that I couldn't remember why scared the shit out of me.

As if the already hysterical demon, who had yet to reveal himself, was mocking me in response to me cowering under him, he then begins to laugh harder and louder. It was then that out of the sky, descending from the storm clouds was what looked like, simply for lack of a better description, a chaos emerald, though it too, seemed familiar as the jewel consisted of mostly red, but with a sort of black glow to it. The jewel stopped after descending a bit and then began to spin rapidly, to a point where as it spun faster and faster, it began creating a sort of vacuum as snow and tree branches began getting sucked in by the wind.

In response to this, I dug my claws into the ice as the back half of my body was lifted into the air due to the suction. I look over to my left to see that the raven was also struggling to find something to grasp as she cawed in panic trying to escape the vacuum. Eventually, the vacuum having increased in power at this point, manages to lift the raven into the air and pull her towards it. Though she resisted it the best that she could, the raven didn't have the strength to escape. She cawed one last time as the vacuum swallowed her, resulting in a red flash. As the flash grew stronger and stronger, the demonic voice finally spoke.

"The Gem was born of evil's fire. The Gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim, he comes to sire, the end of all things mortal", quoted the deep voice just before laughing once again. In response to his laughter, the vacuum sort of explodes, sending out a shockwave that washed over the lake and the surrounding forest in a ripple effect. The shockwave was powerful enough to throw me onto my back as I slid on the ice a few feet before finally stopping. While on my back, I looked back up at the storm clouds. The demonic voice laughed one more time as the red clouds began to disappear in a sort of Cheshire Cat fashion.

Once the clouds and the voice were gone and the sky returned to its normal evening look, the giant raven appears once again, only this time she's unconscious and begins to plummet towards the ice below, almost as if the demonic presence decided that he was done with her and just dropped her. As she got closer and closer to the ice, I tried to catch her using my psychic abilities, but surprise, surprise, they didn't work. I even tried Changing into Gizamon, as I'd hoped that maybe I could fly over and catch the raven, but once again, I was stuck in my current form.

 _Fucking come on_ , I thought to myself in frustration just as the raven crashed into the ice. The impact was enough to crack some of the ice underneath her, despite its thickness. I managed to pick myself back onto my paws as I ran over to the weak raven. Actually, "run" is far from accurate as I had to sort of "skate" my way to the raven due to the fact that a fast set of paws didn't mean shit when it came to frozen lakes.

" _Hey, Buddy, you okay"_ , I barked to her as I slid closer and closer to her. The raven responded with a bit of a jump scare as her eyes popped right open, though there was a catch. Instead of her two normal brown eyes with black pupils, she instead had four red eyes without pupils or irises. _"Whoa whoa whoa, never mind, never mind"_ , I said as I frantically tried to stop myself from sliding any closer to the now demonic bird. The raven responded, feeling confident that I couldn't escape from her, simply opens her beak as I continued to slide towards it. At the very last minute, I give a quick huff and puff as I let out another gust of wind. The raven squawked from discomfort as the wind blasted into her face while at the same time began to propel me backwards. As expected, the raven then took to the air as she flew after me, and I responded by blowing harder trying to speed up my escape.

It didn't do me a lot of good, as the raven was much faster at flying than I was at, whatever I was doing (the whole propelling myself by blowing thing was kinda weird). When she felt that she had a clear shot, the raven flies up a bit, and then dive bombs towards me. With nowhere to go, and no means of escaping her attack, I make one more last minute decision and blast another gust of wind into her face. The raven caws again as flies off-course slightly, crashing behind me as this time she managed to completely break through the ice into the water below. As she did so, a large chuck of ice sort of catapults me up and over the raven, throwing me the rest of the way to the shore. Once there, I took advantage of the fact that I could run again and hid in a nearby tree. It was close enough to the shore where I could see if the raven had survived the crash, but deep enough into the forest to where I was certain she couldn't see me. After a few moments of dead silence, the raven caws once again as she breaks through the ice for the second time, except she was on the other side of the lake.

"That works, too, I guess", I muttered to myself as I wondered why the raven took the time to swim to the shore on the other side of the lake and break through an undamaged thick layer of ice, as opposed to simply emerging from the same way she went in. However, in the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter, as A) the raven was now far away from me, and I was in a more favorable position to defend myself if she decided to pursue me, and B) immediately after emerging from the ice, the raven squawked in frustration and flew away. "Well, that happened", I said sarcastically as I leapt out of the tree onto the forest floor below. "Might as well take a look around", I continued as I began walking deeper into the wintery forest.

I walked for what felt like hours, passing by no other signs of life other than trees every step of the way, until I finally entered a small clearing. That wasn't the weird part, as I expected there to be clearings in a forest. The weird part was that, standing in the middle of the said clearing, was a piano, one of the fancy grand pianos you often see people playing on in the middle of shopping malls.

"It's probably a trap, maybe I should just ignore it". It seemed like the smart thing to do in this situation, but then I remembered that I was in a dream, and nothing about it made any sense up to that point, so there was no reason to expect anything else to for that matter. I took a quick look around to see if anybody was around, but there wasn't. "Nah", I said jokingly as I trotted over to the piano.

Once there, I began sniffing it, as if looking for something that was out of place. Sniffing it didn't really tell me anything, as it was covered in snow, making the piano all wet and watery. I then stalked over to the keys and cautiously slammed my paw on them, jerking my paw away once it made contact. When nothing happened, I slammed it again.

"Seems safe enough", I said as I rose to my hind legs and made my way over to the stool to have a seat in front of it. I yelped for a moment as I sat down, as the stool was also covered in snow, and therefore was freezing cold. Once I had adjusted to the stool, I reached forward and began messing around with the piano.

I started off by playing, "Ode to Joy", as it was usually my "go-to" song whenever I sat in front of a piano. I had played the song so many times that I didn't even have to think about it. My mind was elsewhere as my fingers played routinely. As my mind wandered deeper into my own thoughts, I found myself thinking about what I always thought about, Raven.

It had only been a day, if that, since I last saw her, and already I missed her. I already missed the feeling of waking up in Titans Tower, knowing that Raven was somewhere nearby. I missed being able to sense and feel her. I missed getting lost in her violet eyes, or getting chills whenever she spoke, or looking at her beautifully sculpted legs.

 _There I go again with that creepy leg fetish_ , I thought to myself as if ashamed. _Not that it matters anyway. As long as Robin thinks I'm a monster, I have no hope of becoming a Titan again. He'll never trust me now._ It was then that, without even thinking about it, I randomly started playing a new song, as if my subconscious was trying to cheer myself up. The song in question was, "Friend Like Me" from Disney's "Aladdin". To make the randomness seem even weirder, I found myself doing what I used to do a lot of as a child, rewriting the lyrics. It was as if I was pretending to convince Robin to let me be a Titan again through song.

"ㇸ5Teen Titan, Robin, sir

I'm just what your team needs

So heed my voice

And trust your choice

You won't ever find a friend

Ever find a friend

You won't ever find a friend

Ever find a friend

You won't ever

Find a

Friend

Like

Me

(Plays transition)

You won't ever find a friend like meㇸ5"

Upon me finishing my song, I heard the sound of clapping. I leapt from the piano stool and dropped to all fours in response.

"Who's there", I asked in a growl. My tail began to rattle at this point. "Show yourself", I demanded. In response to my demand, a familiar sight entered the clearing directly in front of me.

"That was lovely, my prince", said the cloaked woman as she walked towards me, still clapping in reference to my performance.

"I wasn't aware that I was being watched."

"How could I not? You seem to have quite a bit of musical talent."

"Yeah, yeah, cut the flattery, I want answers, Lady."

"Oh?"

"Within the past twenty-four hours, I've nearly drowned, got trapped in my own memories, witnessed two murders, got kicked out of the Teen Titans, and worst of all, I was told that I was going to die in about a month or so."

"And you think I may have something to do with that because….?"

"I don't think, I know you do. First there was last night when you and your little friend led me to that creepy graveyard in that weird space dimension. Then the next morning, that same dove led me into the dark abyss that trapped me and Raven in my memories. Then I heard your voices when Kendall revealed her vision of the future to me. And you were there when I nearly drowned trying to contact her, I know you're involved somehow. Who are you?"

"As I've said before, who I am is not important."

"I don't care if it's important or not! Who are you and why are you here?"

"For now just know that I do not wish to harm you, only to help you."

"And how do you intend to do that? And what's your connection to Kendall?"

"I am but a wandering spirit, here to guide and warn you about a great evil that will soon return to your world. As for the enchantress you call, "Kendall", her actions are of her own free will. I have no influence over her visions."

"So basically what you're saying is, the world is pretty much boned, and I'm going to be a victim of whatever bones it."

"You misunderstand, my prince. I never said this evil would cross paths with your future."

"Okay, now I'm confused. Am I fighting against this evil or not? You _did_ just say that you were here to guide and warn me, didn't you?"

"You are correct, I did say that. However, I also said that I had no influence over Kendall's future visions, so I cannot say for certain whether or not they will come to pass, nor can I say for certain that the great evil is involved."

"While I'm thinking about it, what _is_ this "great evil" you keep mentioning?"

"Don't you remember?"

"Remember what? What's there to remember?"

"I believe you've already had a glimpse of this evil recently, have you not", she asked as she pointed up to the sky. It was then that I remembered the red thunder storm from earlier, but my memory of it returned to me with a vengeance. Accompanying my recent memory of the creepy storm, and the even creepier voice that came with it, my mind began to flood with old memories that were buried deep inside my mind. I grasp at my head and drop to my knees as I found it harder and harder to breath as several horrible memories began returning to me. I let out a loud howl in response to remembering the horrors of my early years that I buried long ago. "Shhh, hush now, Child", whispered the cloaked woman as she lifted her hand and motioned it towards me. It was then that I found myself being surrounded by her white aura, which allowed me to catch my breath and calm down a bit.

"I, remember. I remember, the nightmares", I panted as I rested in the snow on my hands and knees. The stress of the memories was so intense that I wound up Changing back into my human form, despite the fact that I couldn't Change at will in this frozen forest. "It'd been so long. I forgot all about them."

"Nightmares", asked the woman as if she didn't know what I was talking about. I knew that she knew, she just wanted me to talk about it.

"When I was a child, like a really small child, I used to have these terrible nightmares. I would scream and shout in my sleep. Sometimes they were so intense that I would try to run away from them in my sleep."

"What were you trying to run away from?"

"I don't remember what happened in my nightmares, but I _do_ remember, that every time I had them, that voice was always there, too", I said as I rose to my feet and pointed at the sky.

"That doesn't surprise me. Your history with that voice goes back farther than you realize."

"How so? What do you mean by that?"

"In due time, my prince", she said as she began to drift backwards into a sudden out of nowhere mist.

"Oh, no you don't! I need more answers than that", I said as I ran towards her. "What is this evil? How do I fight it? How am I connected to it? Please tell me! I don't have much time left", I continued to shout as I ran to her, though it seemed like I would never be able to catch her.

"To find the answers you seek, you must bring the Gem to where the rainbow was formed. There you will find the stone, and the answers you seek. Now you must wake up, Fernando. Wake up."

"What do you mean? What Gem? What rainbow? What stone? Could you be any more vague?"

"Wake, Fernando."

"Wait, stop", I shouted to her as I pushed and pushed trying to run faster to catch her.

"Wake up, Fernando." Finally, after running for what felt like miles, I managed to get a second wind as it looked like I was getting ready to catch her.

"I, said, "wait"", I said as I managed to reach out and grab one of her shoulders. Once I did I yanked her towards me. I then pulled back the hood of her cloak, to reveal the jump scare underneath. I screamed in shock as the head of the raven from earlier was revealed and squawked at me.


	5. Motives

I gasped in shock as my eyes shot open from the bizarre acid trip/nightmare I had just endured. I pant a little as I try to calm myself down by looking around at my current surroundings. I was back in my wolf form, or rather still in my wolf form as the dream technically didn't really happen, though the word, "technically" is used very loosely in this case. I look behind me to see that my back was still leaned against Lola.

"That was quite the ride", I whispered to myself in reference to the dream I had just awoken from. Though I got my desired wish of some answers as to why everything was unfolding the way it was as of late, I left the dream with even more questions than answers. I didn't have time to think about it too much though as I began picking up a scent, one other than the moths. Because of the fact that I was in this large room away from any form of life other than the moths, the fact that I still managed to pick up a scent told me that the scent belonged to someone powerful, at least in the sense that situations such as these in my experience usually meant a member of the supernatural world.

I was just about to rise to my paws when I noticed Lola behind me. Her left wing was draped over my body like a very loose blanket. It wasn't until that moment that I'd noticed her maternal-like gesture, and it was enough to get a small smile out of me as I watched her sleep. I leaned closer into her and purred a moment as I rubbed my head against her.

"Thankssss, Lola", I whispered as I Changed into Mambamon and slithered from under her wing in an attempt to not wake her up. Once I was free from Lola's wing, I continued to slither around the other sleeping moths, which was more difficult than it sounded given one particular moth of the bunch, Jiant. Jiant, who was clearly the baby of the swarm, was just as active and reckless asleep as he was awake. He tossed and turned repeatedly in his sleep, but not once did he ever wince, groan, or give any kind of sign that he was aware that he was doing it.

As I slithered by him, I noticed him roll over onto Killer, who being the most patient among the moths, didn't mind as he made no effort to move him. That moment made me realize that the five moths I was resting with weren't simply teammates or comrades, they were siblings. Killer's tolerance of Jiant was similar to that of how an older sibling would tolerate the difficulties of a younger sibling. My realization was further confirmed when I thought back to earlier that day when I was renaming Lola. It was completely understandable why Lola acted the way she did when I repeatedly called her "Lethal", a name that she took offense to. However, though I didn't realize it at the time, what was amazing about it was how I made the discovery of Lola being a female moth.

At the end of the day, though I might've found out on my own eventually, the only reason why I found out Lola was female, was because of her four brothers. When Lola verbally rejected the name she was given, all four of her brothers not only joined her in rejecting her original name, they also proceeded in showing me why they rejected her name. It was just like any human family consisting of a girl with two or more brothers. If anyone, especially men, was dumb enough to treat her poorly or otherwise upset her, the brothers would be the first in line to respond.

I was just about to completely pass by the two brotherly moths when Jiant tossed again, only this time he rolled over on top of me. It took every ounce of my strength to keep myself from yelling due to Jiant crushing me as he was large enough to lie on top of all of me with the exception of my head.

"Jiant, get off of me", I whispered weakly as I tried to wiggle out from under him. When nothing worked I took a different approach. While underneath him as a snake, I began to Change into my bear form, which caused Jiant to roll the other way back towards Killer. Jiant, so deep in his sleep, simply slept through the whole thing. I shook out my fur for a moment before continuing my path away from the moths. I stopped when I was directly underneath the opening in the ceiling that I had entered from.

Once I was there, I used my x-ray vision to look beyond the ceiling. Not only that, I could see the general layout of the entire underground fortress itself. It was through this set of eyes I noticed two people moving throughout the fortress. The first one, who was off towards my left, was Fixit, who was probably patrolling the halls given that it was late at night and most everybody was asleep, which brought me to the other person I noticed walking through the halls over towards my right. It was a presumably young man in dark clothing with a cape. He was too far away for me to get a good look at him, so I had to get closer.

"I don't think Moth invited you", I muttered to myself as I opened a shadow portal in the floor in front of me. With Killer Moth asleep and his security cameras, at least for the room I was in, destroyed, this was the perfect time to utilize my Elemental powers. I was just about to walk into the portal when I felt something biting my tail, or at least that was what she was aiming for. I looked behind me to see Lola gently biting on my rear, probably due to the fact that in my bear form, I had a very small tail. I was about to scold her for sinking her teeth into my rear, when I noticed a sort of worried look on her face.

Upon seeing it I Changed back to my human form to try and comfort her. "Aw, don't be like that, Lola", I said as squatted down and cradled her head in my arms. "I'm coming right back. I just have to look into something. Stay here with your brothers, okay", I asked her as I petted her. Lola responded by jerking her head forward a tad to nudge me as if to say, "okay, fine". "Good girl", I said to her as I petted her once more before jumping into the portal. From inside the Shadow Zone (that's what I decided to call the limbo-like dimension I entered whenever I traveled between shadow portals), I watched Lola as she sulked for a moment before walking back to her sleeping brothers. "I'll try to make this quick", I said to myself as if she was with me and I was trying to reassure her. I then looked away from Lola and focussed my attention on the stranger roaming throughout the hallways.

He wore a black full body suit with a white in the shape of the top half of a skull on his face. On both his sternum, and on his forehead, were two red "X"'s, though it was worth noting that the two "X"'s consisted of the line that went from top right to bottom left was longer than the line going vice versa. The downward left diagonal on the "X" on his forehead in particular was long enough to cross over his right eye, or rather the eyehole where his eye should be, to a point where it kinda looked like a scar. In addition, it was at that point I noticed that the eyeholes of his mask were similar to those of Robin's, in that they were whited out. Also like Robin, the stranger had a similar taste in accessories, as he also wore a cape, a utility belt, and gloves. The only initial difference between Robin's suit and the stranger's suit, aside from designs and colors (the stranger's cape was black on top and gray on the bottom, his gloves and belt were gray, and on both the backs of his hands and on his palms were four more red "X"'s), was the fact that A) Robin had a clean-looking cape whereas the stranger's cape was frayed and torn at the end, and B) Robin wore a separate set of shoes with his suit whereas the stranger had shoes built into his suit, making it similar to Gizmo's suit in that regard. The stranger made his way over to room at the end of one hall that had the word, "restricted" written across it in all capital letters in a bold, red font.

"For those of you that are a bit slower in the crowd", said the stranger sarcastically to himself as he reached into his belt and pulled out, again, much like Robin, his equivalent of a birdarang, except it was in the shape of an "X" (shocker). He then stabs it into the door's electrical security pad that was on the wall near the door. The pad sparks for a moment, but then lights up a green light and opens the door for him. "Nothing to it", he says again to himself. I was more than capable of jumping right then and there, as it was obvious at this point that he was an intruder, but I was intrigued by what he intended to accomplish and allowed him to continue with his scheme while I waited and observed.

Awaiting the stranger on the other side of the security door was a series of lasers scanning back and forth between the door the stranger entered from, and the other door at the end of the room-like hallway. Both doors had security pads as well, suggesting that someone had to deactivate the lasers every time they walked to and from the guarded room on the other side. The stranger pulls out another "X" from his belt as he glances at the security pad next to him.

"Nah, that's no fun", said the stranger as he put away his "X" and proceeded to jump and weave in between the scanning lasers with the grace and charisma of one skilled in the martial arts, again, much like Robin.

"Who on Earth is this guy", I asked myself as I watched the stranger dodge every single laser as if he hadn't a care in the world. Once he reached the other side, only then did he decide to pull out his "X" again and stab the second security pad, thus deactivating the lasers and opening the door for him. "Hmph, showoff", I muttered.

On the other side of the new door was a very large factory-like room, as the door led the stranger to a balcony with a metal railing on the side. Down under the balcony, were several rows and columns of metal cocoon-like structures lined up along the wall. Inside each structure was quite literally a cybernetic mutant moth, though they were all a few inches smaller than the Big Five.

"Somebody's been a busy bee", said the stranger as he leaned over the side of the balcony and looked down towards the cocoons. He wasn't kidding, there were ten rows of fifty cocoons, for a total of five hundred moth cyborgs. And what was weird about it was that there was no consistency to how much robotic technology was added onto each moth. Some of them had robotic wings, others had metal faces, a few had metal plates revealed via torn holes in their skin, these things were all over the place. I was fully aware the cybernetic beings were still living creatures and therefore these things were still moths like the Big Five, but something wasn't sitting right with me about them.

Cyborg's robotic technology said it all. When I looked at Cyborg, I saw a human man that due to either experimentation and/or tragedy, had his body rendered useless. His technology actually looked like it was built to keep him alive, despite all the weapons and added features Cyborg most likely added to himself. The cybernetic moths on the other hand looked like the exact opposite. Rather than looking like the robotic technology was keeping them alive, it moreso looked like it was going to revive them, like Killer Moth was making a swarm of cybernetic zombies.

"Oh dear God", I said to myself upon realizing Killer Moth's plan. Whether this was normal behavior for him or not, it was serious none-the-less. He recruited me for the purpose of leading his zombie moth army into a war against the Titans in a battle over the city, and there was going to be a lot of collateral damage no matter what the outcome was.

"Ah, there it is", said the stranger to himself as he looked straight ahead across from the balcony (he tended to talk to himself a _lot_ , and that was coming from _me_ ). I followed his gaze and noticed I giant vat of a gooey red substance. The vat was connected to a series of tubes, which were built into the wall behind it. The tubes snaked themselves down the wall to the floor, and all the way across to and up the other wall towards the cocoons. "I do enjoy visiting the old geezer. He always has a generous supply of xenothium to share with me", continued the stranger as he walked backwards towards the other railing behind him, as if preparing to jump from a running start. It was then that I finally decided that enough was enough.

"I'm afraid I have to step in now", I said aloud as I rose up from another shadow portal on the floor in front of him in my wolf form.

"So, how long have you been in here?"

"I've been here the whole time, and I'm afraid I cannot let you take any of the sinothium."

" _Xeno_ thium", corrected the stranger.

"Whatever", I growled at him.

"More on the xenothium later. Tell me, what's a crackpot like Killer Moth doing with a pet werewolf?"

"I'm not a pet, least of all to the likes of him."

"So then why are you here? More importantly, why do you care about what happens to the xenothium?"

"Like you, I have my own agenda, and I need the xenothium to stay right where it is if you don't mind."

"Hmmm, fair enough. Unfortunately for you, I do mind", he says as he points one of his palms at me. It was then that out of seemingly nowhere, the red "X" on his palm shot out an "X"-shaped projectile at me. As it hit me, it wrapped around my muzzle, clamping my jaws. I stumbled for a moment as I tried to shake it off, but quickly snapped myself out of it when I noticed the stranger jump into the air, pushing a button on his belt as he did so. Anticipating what was about to happen, I also leaped into the air. I then used my mind reading ability to anticipate his intended course as the two of us teleported off of the balcony. Unfortunately for the stranger, since I knew where he would reappear, I greeted him with a shadow punch, a fist cloaked in my aura, which sent him flying back onto the balcony, though he managed to flip onto his feet upon landing. I then teleported again, reappearing on the metal railing of the balcony while standing on my hind legs.

"It'll take more than that to get past me", I warned him after ripping off the restraint on my muzzle.

"Interesting", began the stranger as he rubbed his jaw in reference to the right hook I just inflicted on him. "I have to admit, I didn't see that coming."

"Flattery won't work here I'm afraid."

"As if, I'm simply respecting a worthy opponent. I haven't had one in quite some time, least of all from your kind."

"Hmph, "my kind", as you'll soon find out for yourself I am _one_ of a kind."

"Then what say you to a friendly sparring match? No tricks, no weapons. Just good 'ole brute force."

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you intend to use only your fists? Who's to say that you won't try to use another one of your gadgets in that belt of yours the moment I let my guard down? Who's to say that you won't cheat and fight honorably?"

"Huh, what would a werewolf know about honor?"

"A lot more than a selfish thief, I assure you."

"Touche", said the stranger without another word as he assumed a battle stance.

 _Guess there's one way to find out_ , I thought to myself as I slowly and cautiously walked off the railing on all fours and proceeded to circle my opponent. The stranger mirrored my gesture as he began circling in the other direction, making sure to not have his back turned towards me as he did so, which was a wise move on his part.

"What're you waiting for? "X" marks the spot", he said as he pointed at the "X" mark on his sternum. He was trying to bait me into making the first move.

"The hunter will strike his prey when the time is right. See? I can make cheesy taunts, too." The stranger simply chuckled in response to my remark.

"You know, we won't get anywhere if we just keep walking like this all night."

"I agree", I responded as we both came to a stop with the metal railings to both our left and right. I then pawed at the metal floor underneath me like a bull as he resumed his battle stance. _3, 2, 1_ , I exclaimed in my head as he and I rushed at each other simultaneously. He then dropped to the ground and slid at me as if he was sliding into third base in a baseball game as I simultaneously lunged at him, resulted in me leaping over him as he slid under me. The two of us paused for a moment to look back at each other as we both had anticipated each other's attacks.

We then, again simultaneously rushed at each other again. From there, a heated battle consisting of the two of us dodging each other's punches, kicks, and in my case, slashes and bites, while at the same time striking at each other. The two of us spent just as much time dodging attacks as we did dishing them out that we very rarely managed to landed a blow on each other. Eventually the fighting got to a point where the stranger leapt high into the air and came down on me with a powerful kick, which landed across the right side of my face. However, as he did so, I was given a clear shot at the left half of his torso. Upon seeing it, in the middle of his kick, I slashed my claws against his ribs. The two of us groaned as we fell to the ground for a moment, only to quickly stand up again as we stared each other down.

"So, the honorable werewolf fights dirty", said the stranger as he examined the slash marks in his suit, revealing a tiny sneak peek at some extremely palish skin underneath.

"Jealous much", I asked him as I rose to my hind legs.

"Don't flatter yourself. I simply thought that we agreed to no weapons."

"Wasn't aware that claws counted as weapons", I taunted as I rubbed the claws on my index finger and thumb together. "But no matter, I'm sure you've got something in that bag of tricks to even the playing field, don't you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do", he said as the red "X"'s on the backs of his hands began to glow. From there, two more birdarang-like "X"'s appeared on his hands, except they were bigger and the four points of the "X" were pointed like blades. He balled his fists as he clanged the "X"-blades together before assuming his battle stance. I tracted my claws and growled at him in response.

We then rushed at each other again as we then began slashing at one another. I managed to slash him across the face, which didn't amount to much as his mask was made of a material so strong that it didn't even leave a mark, as he managed to cut up my arms three times. Eventually our slash fight brought us to a point where my claws clashed with his blades as we pushed into one another.

"Impressive, this is the most fun I've had in a long time."

"Oh, so you like getting your ass kicked by the person you're trying to rob?"

"Cute, but I'm not stealing from you, I'm stealing from Moth."

"Sorry, but until I'm done with him, you're stealing from me as well."

"For someone who claims not to be Moth's pet, you certainly want to see him prevail in sending the city into chaos."

"Who says I want him to succeed? I simply—", I began before I trailed off. My nose was picking up a scent. Someone was coming. I quickly ended our power struggle by lifting up my arms, raising the stranger's arms as I did so. I then quickly restrained his raised arms by teleporting behind him, reaching my arms under his armpits, and them locking my hands together behind his neck.

"What're you doing", asked the frustrated skull face as he squirmed in my grasp.

"Keep quiet", I said to him as I opened another shadow portal and dove into it, the stranger still in my grasp. From the safety of the Shadow Zone, I spied on Fang who was closing in on the hallway leading to the security door that the stranger had destroyed.

 _Shit_ , I thought to myself upon realizing what would happen if Fang noticed the vandalized door. The last thing I needed was Fang alerting the other villains about any of this.

"It'll be a miracle if I survive this pregnancy", muttered Fang to himself as he walked down the hallway. "Stupid hormones through the fucking roof, I mean who craves pineapple omelettes at 4:00 am?"

 _Fuck, is it_ that _late already_ , I asked myself in reference to how much time I spent messing around with the stranger.

"Will you let go of me", demanded the stranger as he squirmed yet again. I bit the top of his head in an attempt to keep him quiet, which immediately backfired. "Ow, you dick!" Upon hearing the stranger's complaint, Fang stopped dead in his tracks. He then lifted his head up and snapped his pinchers for a moment, which I assumed was him trying to track us. Spiders are known for being able to sense the presence of others, and as a mutant spider, it didn't surprise me all that much that Fang could sense us, even in the Shadow Zone. Fang then starts picking up the pace as he continues towards where the vandalized door was.

 _Fuck, we're boned_ , I thought to myself as there was no way to cover this up without revealing myself. Luckily, with the emphasis on "luck", help came in the form of a cybernetic being that had been patrolling the halls long before the stranger even arrived.

"Good Evening, Master Fang", said Fixit as he emerged from further down the very dimly lit hallway ahead of Fang. Upon Fang hearing Fixit's voice out of seemingly nowhere, Fang shrieks in shock for a moment before addressing him.

"Dammit, Fixit! What do you want?"

"I am simply here to serve you and Young Kitten, Master Fang", said Fixit as he walked towards Fang carrying a plate with an omelette on it.

"What's this", asked a suspicious Fang as he snatched the plate away and began examining it.

"Hormonal levels indicated that Young Kitten was experiencing cravings, and the pregnancy and her tastebuds suggested that—", he began before Fang grew tired of him explaining.

"Yeah yeah yeah, is there pineapple in this?"

"Of course, Master."

"Good", said Fang just before spitting a web into Fixit's face. With the robotic butler now blinded for the moment, Fang then strikes him with one of his spider legs. I felt sorry for the poor guy as her was thrown against the wall due to the attack. "And don't startle me like that again", said a grumpy Fang as he stormed away, presumably back to he and Kitten's room.

"Good Evening, Master", said a weakened Fixit with a bow when he rose back to his feet. He then waited there for a moment until Fang was out of sight. He then makes his way over to the damaged door. "The coast is clear. You may come out now." Fixit apparently was able to sense us as well, though I trusted him moreso than I did Fang, so I deemed it safe to reveal myself to him. As the stranger and I rose up out of another shadow portal on the floor by the door, my grip on the stranger must've loosened because he then uses one of his "X"-blades and cuts the back of my neck. I yelped in response as I pushed the stranger away from me, grabbing my neck as I did so.

"About time", said the stranger as he returned to his battle stance again.

"Ugh, you _still_ want to fight?"

"I'm not leaving without that xenothium."

"Honestly what's so important about it? I'm sure you know of at least one other way to get the stuff, so why are you so Hell-bent on Moth's supply?"

"It's nothing personal, it's just the principle of the situation." I growled at him in response as I dropped to all fours and prepared for battle yet again.

"May I ask what you plan to do", asked Fixit to the stranger as he positioned himself in between us. The two of us immediately calmed down upon hearing Fixit's somewhat hypnotic monotone.

"Come again?"

"You covet the xenothium, yes? May I ask why?"

"I have my reasons."

"I'm sure they're selfish ones", I muttered.

"We can't all be heroes, Kid. Just lookin' out for Number One", he said as he pointed to himself.

"That must be an easy way to live, not caring about the choices you make and how they affect others."

"Oh, excuse me, Princess. You're no better than I am. What, you're going to guard the xenothium knowing that the mad scientist who owns it plans on unleashing Armageddon on the city?"

"If I am correct in Master Wolfman's motives, I believe he plans to sabotage Killer Moth's takeover from the inside." I rose to my hind legs in response to Fixit's response.

"How the Hell did you figure that out", I asked him impulsively. I covered my mouth upon realizing that I was thinking out loud.

"Sabotage, eh? The Titans do espionage now?"

"The Titans don't even know I'm here", I replied, completing owning the fact that my intentions have been revealed. "And how did you know I was connected to the Titans?"

" _Was_? I didn't know you were connected to the Titans, but since it was a 50/50 guess, I just picked one and let you decide which one was fact", he said as his "X"-blades shrunk back down and disappeared from his hands. "So, you're a friend of Robin's?"

"Well let's just say that's for him to decide. I take it you are?"

"You could say that", he said as he began to back away from us. "For the record, I was never here", he said as he prepared to push the button on his belt. Before he could do so I restrained him using my aura.

"Just a minute. How about a name? Who are you?"

"That's quite a strong mental grip", he said as his body remained frozen in my aura. "I bet the two of you get along swimmingly. Guess that's another reason why I should be a _little_ nicer to you." I then made the assumption that he was implying to tell me who he was, so I released him. "The name's X, Red X."

"I can't imagine why", I said to him sarcastically.

"Consider the xenothium a gift between rivals", said X with a bow. "Oh, and as I said, I was never here", he continued as he pushed the button on his belt again. A brief red flash appeared for a split second, and then he was gone. I turned to Fixit for confirmation.

"Sensors indicate eleven life forms in the vicinity", said Fixit. I then counted off everyone who was supposed to be there in my head.

 _Me, Fixit, Fang, Kitten, Moth, Mod, Killer, Jiant, Grinder, Nightmare, and Lola, so yeah, eleven._

"Do you require any further service from me, Master", asked Fixit with a bow.

"Well you can start by not calling me, "Master", at least while the others aren't around."

"If your plan to sabotage Killer Moth is successful, then I am forever in your debt, Master."

"So you _are_ a prisoner."

"I once lived a life of isolation, the city's junk yard as my home. There I lived my days repairing machines in secrecy to pass the time. I was eventually discovered and taken captive by Killer Moth, and have remained his servant ever since, as he threatens to return me to the junk yard in disrepair should I anger him."

"That sounds lonely."

"Perhaps, which is why I ask you to stop Killer Moth so that I can regain my freedom."

"Never mind that, what happens once you are free? You just go on to live by yourself again?" Fixit responded by taking off his cloak, revealing the machinery underneath. His very organs and innards were tangled into the machinery so much that I couldn't even begin to describe how he functioned the way he did.

"As you can see", he began as he put his cloak back on, "I do not require much to live. I do not require food, not drink, nor sleep, nor mating, nor companionship, much like Killer Moth's creations."

"I don't believe you." A look of disbelief appears on Fixit's face in response to my statement.

"Though your optimism is admirable, the fact still remains, I am but a cybernetic organism, an artificial life form."

"First of all, no, you aren't. You may have circuits instead of veins, but you aren't an AI, you're a cyborg, which makes you human. When a dog loses its back legs and has them replaced with a pair of wheels or prosthetics, we never stop calling it a dog, so why should the technology keeping you alive take away from you being human. Second of all, you're sentient, you're alive, you're an individual, you feel, you think, so even if you aren't human, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. And third of all, I don't care who or what you are, nobody deserves to live life doomed to isolation, and deep down you know that." Fixit hesitated as he didn't know how to respond to what I said. "By the way, there _is_ something else you can do for me."

"Yes, Master?"

"Though it doesn't at all affect my purpose of being here, can I ask a favor of you?"

"Of course, Sir."

"When this is all over, will you stay here with the moths?"

"The moths?"

"Not the army of abominations that Killer Moth has mass produced, I'm referring to the Big Five. They, too, are Killer Moth's prisoners, and that's just not okay with me. That said, there's no other safe place for them to go, and this lab is all they know, but they need someone to look after them."

"If that is your command, Master", said Fixit with a bow.

"I'm not ordering my servant, I'm asking my friend."

"Your friend, Sir", asked Fixit upon lifting up from his bow.

"Of course. And I always look out for my friends", I said with a grin as I gave him a thumbs up. A smile appeared on Fixit's face as he nodded to me. "Good Evening, Fixit", I said with a bow just before returning to all fours. "And thank you." With that said, I opened another shadow portal and entered the Shadow Zone. Before heading back to the moths, I stopped for a moment to hear Fixit mutter to himself.

"You're most welcome, my friend."


	6. Game Time

It was a very good thing I managed to get in some decent sleep before my run-in with Red X, because I was woken up bright and early at 6:00 am due to the sudden turning on of the giant floor lightbulb, well that and the fact that the moths responded to it by rushing over to the light immediately after it turned on.

"Hey", I exclaimed as Lola sort of barrels through me as she and her brothers race for the lightbulb. "Oh yeah", I said to myself remembering that they were moths. It was then that the opening from the ceiling opened up again, only this time, a large mechanical arm with a deer carcass in its hand was lowered down. Upon hearing the sound of the carcass hit the ground, the moths all leave the lightbulb and begin swarming their breakfast.

"Oy, Wolfmutt", called Mad Mod from up above. "Get a move on! His majesty requests our attendance", he said as he lowered the mechanical arm down further so that I had a ride up.

 _Ugh, I hate that guy_ , I thought to myself as I began trotting over to the arm. _"Eat up, Guys. Today's the big day"_ , I said to the moths as I passed them. They were too busy with their meal to focus on me at the moment, but I still had confidence in them. "Let's go", I called up to moth as I pounded on the mechanical arm twice upon reaching it. Mod then proceeds to lift me up out of the room.

"Come on, then, step lively", said Mod as he marched out of the room into the hallway. I trotted behind him towards the living room, with Fixit joining us along the way.

"All are present and accounted for, Master", said Fixit as he entered the living room with me and Mod.

"I can see that you buffoon", said Killer Moth in reference to the fact that he, Kitten, and Fang we all already waiting for the three of us.

"Good Morning, Wolfman", said Kitten as she waved to me.

"Kitten." Fang immediately responded by shrieking at me. I responded by roaring at him.

"Oooh, I've got goosebumps", said Kitten in response to my roar as she rubs her arms up and down. Today she was wearing a pink hoodie and matching sweatpants which were designed for expecting mothers, which was a _huge_ improvement from what she was wearing the day before.

"For God sake, can we move this along please", asked an impatient Mad Mod.

"For once I agree with the yahoo", I added.

"I was just getting to that", began Killer Moth. "As you all are aware by now, today is the day we take over Jump City once and for all!"

"Such a dramatic little man, aren't you", heckled Mod.

"Silence!" Mad Mod simply shrugged it off as being yelled at didn't bother him in the least. "Now then, you all know your assignments?"

"Come now, Moth. It's pretty obvious what the plan is", said Mod.

"Then tell us, Queen of England, what exactly will you be doing", I questioned him.

"I'm glad you asked, my little snot. Observe", he said as he pushed a button on his cane. The television behind Killer Moth turned on to show what looked like an army of British robot soldiers. "Directly underneath us as we speak is a fleet of five hundred hypno-soldiers, armed and ready for attack." Killer Moth then cleared his throat, keeping him from gloating any further. "Oh yes, and Moth's also got his fleet of Frankenmoths", said an unenthusiastic Mad Mod as he pushed another button, revealing an image of his moth cyborg army.

"Ah, isn't it beautiful", asked a proud Killer Moth.

"That's just sick", I muttered. I quickly recovered from my statement when I noticed that I was thinking out loud again, and Moth looked back at me upon hearing my thought. "Not bad at all, Moth."

"What you are looking at are the instruments of the Titans' destruction! With my army of cybernetic moths, along with my secret weapon, nothing can stop me from ruling Jump City!" Fang shrieked in response to Moth's dramatic speech. "Er, I mean, nothing can stop _us_ from ruling the city."

"Way to clean that up, Moth", teased Mod. I interjected before Killer Moth had a chance to take the bait.

"Yeah yeah yeah, what's this "secret weapon" of yours?"

"Good question, Wolfman", said Moth as he whips out his own remote and pushes a button on it. The t.v. then shows us a view of the balcony in the factory-like room. From there we see five mechanical arms lower down from the ceiling, each placing a human-sized bird cage on the balcony.

"Bird cages", asked Kitten. "Really, Daddy? We are trying to take over the city, and your secret weapon is a bunch of bird cages?"

"Not just any bird cages, Kitten. These are Titanproof titanium bird cages, one of which is equipped with a voice recognition DNA-tracker that only I can control. With it, I can simply state the name of any one of the Titans, say Robin for example, and the cage will immediately hunt down and capture its target. Plus, like our two armies, the metal that makes up the cages will be reinforced with a xenothium-powered shield, which will be generated by an independent drone, which will be cloaked at all times, making it to where even I won't know where it is. Once the shield has been activated, anything and everything metal on our side of the battlefield will be 100% blast and magicproof, leaving the Titans powerless!"

"If these birdcages are so indestructible, than why does only one of them have the tracker", asked Fang. I had no witty remark or response, as it was a legitimately good question.

"Well I'm sure we would've had the time to build four more of them if _some_ body didn't insist on attacking the city _today_ ", said Mod.

"So basically, the one cage that does have the tracker is a trump card to instantly take one of the Titans out of the fight before it even begins", I said.

"That's correct", responded Moth. "And it's got Robin's name all over it."

"Yes! Today Robipoo is going down! Nobody dumps me", said a now angry Kitten. Seeing an opportunity to once again take advantage of Killer Moth's plans, I then interjected.

"Not a good idea."

"What was that", asked Moth as he and the other villains all turned their attention to me.

"Targeting Robin with the trump card, not a good idea. Do that, and you're sure to lose."

"Why is that?"

"Come now, Wolfie", began Mod. "It's basic, really. If you take out the other team's best player, you can pick off the weaklings with ease."

"I agree", I began, "which is why it's absolutely stupid to waste a guaranteed capture on Robin. He may lead the Titans, but he is in no way the team's strongest link. In fact he is the _weakest_ link."

"Oh yeah? And what makes you an expert all of a sudden", questioned Fang.

"Well I'm glad you asked, my little snot", I began with my imitation of Mad Mod's voice. "It's quite basic, really. As you all know, the Teen Titans consist of five members, their leader, Robin, their second in command, Cyborg, the alien known as Starfire, and the two mutants, Raven, and Beast Boy."

"We all know that", began an irritated Mod (probably in response to me imitating him), "just get to the point!"

"Patience, Duckie. Please don't interrupt when Teacher is talking", I said to him condescendingly just before punching him in the face.

"Oy! What the bloody Hell was that for?"

"You _know_ what that was for", I growled to him in my normal voice in reference to the day before.

"Haha, I like this kid's style", said Moth. "Please continue, Wolfman." I continued in my normal voice as I had already grown tired of imitating Mad Mod by that point.

"As I was saying, the Titans have two humans, an alien, and two mutants. That said, we can already eliminate Robin and Cyborg as our biggest threats, as they are merely humans reliant on weapons and machinery. That leaves the alien and the mutants. Taking each other their individual powers into account, we can also determine that Beast Boy is a Class 3 mutant, and though she is not from Earth, Starfire's powers register alongside Beast Boy's as a Class 3 Earth mutant."

"What do you mean by "Class"", asked Moth.

"I forgot, your city is amazingly tolerant with mutants, so it's no wonder you're unfamiliar with the Class System."

"What Class System", asked Fang.

"Though it isn't enforced by any branch of military or law enforcement, there is a Class System that humans use to determine the strength and threat of any given mutant. The system ranks mutants a number between 1 and 5, with 1 being the weakest. Class 1 mutants include individuals who have absolutely no control of their powers, usually making them a danger to themselves and everyone around them in severe cases. Class 2 mutants are those in control of their powers, but the individuals of this Class have powers that are weak or otherwise harmless in combat, such as the ability to walk through walls, or simple hypnosis. "Class 3 mutants include individuals who have powers capable of being threats in combat, while having complete control, with one small catch. What separates Class 3 from Class 4 is the factor of "blending in". Both Classes 3 and 4 have mutants with amazing powers and total control of them, but if the individual's mutation contains an element that prevents them from being unrecognizable among humans, then they are labeled a Class 3. This is why most werewolves like myself are Class 4 mutants (I was actually a Class 5, but they didn't need to know that), while Beast Boy, Starfire, and Fang, here, are all Class 3."

"Watch it, Wolf", warned Fang.

"Get over yourself, Fang. I'm just using you as an example."

"So what? You think because that little Class System has you in a higher Class you think you're tougher than me?"

"First of all, I simply said that I can blend into a crowd of humans if I wanted to, and you don't even have the choice because of the fact that you have a spider for a head. Second of all, fuck you, I know I'm tougher than you. I thought I made that pretty clear yesterday, several times actually." Fang shrieked in response as he prepared to fight again.

"Fang, sit down", demanded Moth. A reluctant Fang glared at him for a moment before backing off and shutting up. "So, Wolfman, what's a Class 5?"

"Class 5 mutants, like Raven, are an exceptionally powerful Class of mutants, so powerful in fact, that an extremely small percentage of mutants even register in this Class. The average mutant is usually either a Class 3 or 4. Anyone outside of that is usually viewed as either extremely powerful or extremely weak, with Class 5 mutants having powers that, if amplified and concentrated, can reach powers of cataclysmic proportions. In Raven's case, she has the power to bend the element of darkness to her will, allowing her to release her very own armageddon upon the world if she ever chose to. Bottom line: if you want to win this war, take out Raven first."

"Then it's settled", said Killer Moth, having all the facts he needed to change up his game plan. He then turns back to the t.v. to turn it off, but something caught his eye on the screen. "Wait a moment… FIXIT!"

"Yes, Master?"

"What happened to the security to the factory?"

"What the Hell, Moth", began Mod. "I thought you said you had top-notch security in this lair of yours!"

"I do, or at least I did. Fixit, you were supposed to be on post last night!"

"I was, Master. Unfortunately, there was an intruder."

"What", asked the four villains in the room simultaneously.

"I knew I heard something last night", said Fang.

"A fine time, to say something now, Fang", said Kitten as she hit him with one of the couch pillows.

"Why wasn't I alerted", asked Moth.

"I presumed you would want to get a full night's sleep for the battle today, so when I first sensed the intruder, I found a more quieter solution. As a result, all equipment and xenothium is present and accounted for", said Fixit.

"What _was_ taken?"

"Not a damn thing", I added to back up Fixit.

"Then what happened to him then", asked Fang.

"I handled it. Fixit came to me last night and woke me up, and it was worth it. The thief is probably completely digested by now."

"The Hell? You just, ate him", asked a hysterical Mad Mod. I forced myself to belch and then picked my teeth with my claws to milk out my lie.

"Haha, that's my boy", began Killer Moth with yet another uncomfortable moment of closeness from him as he squatted down and scratched the top of my head, "full of spunk and gumption", he continued as he rose back up to his feet. This is the perfect note to start our attack on. Fixit, prepare the swarm!"

"Now activating xenothium distribution", said Fixit as his eyes and energy streams laced throughout his body began to glow red. It was then that I noticed the t.v. screen showing the vat of xenothium as it began getting sucked through the tubes towards the moth swarm.

"Yes, yes, my children. Absorb the power I have given to you, and be reborn! The Titans may have defeated you once before, but now nothing can stop us from taking the city, and the whole world if we want!" Killer Moth followed up his little dramatic moment with an evil laugh as the rest of sort of awkwardly waited for him to finish. "Come, my friends, and prepare for battle", said Moth as he headed towards the other living room next to the lair's exit towards the meadow up above.

"Alright, Duckies, move along now. We're going top-side", said Moth as we all began making our way out of the room after Killer Moth. We followed him into the next room, through the metal tunnel, out the trap door, and back to the meadow where I had first entered from, squinting at the burning sunlight as we did so.

"Fixit! Release the Big Five!"

"Yes, Master." Fixit begins to glow red again as the earth below us begins to shake again. The ground in the center of the meadow then opens up as the five mutant moths take to the sky immediately, most likely due to the fact that it was their first time seeing sunlight.

"Away to me, Wolfman", commanded Moth. I glared at him for a moment in reference to him _still_ giving me demeaning dog commands.

"He's telling you to—", began Mad Mod.

"I know what it means", I growled interrupting him as I ran towards the center of the meadow. Once there I let out a howl. Upon hearing it, Lola then let out a shriek, letting her brothers know to get in formation, formation being that Lola stands by my side, as she is my Beta, and the other four moths line up facing us shoulder to shoulder much like cadets would in a high school ROTC (Reserved Officer Training Corps) class. When my troops were in position, I turned back towards Moth, waiting for further instructions.

"Fixit, send the rest!"

"Yes, Master." The ground then shakes again as it feels several even more stuff comes out of the gaping hole in the middle of the meadow. The first to arrive was Mad Mod's obnoxiously British robot army as a metal platform would ascend and descend over and over again, bringing with it several dozen soldiers each time it popped out of the ground. Once all five hundred soldiers were accounted for, the cybernetic moths were the next to arrive, as they immediately took to the sky and began swarming out of control.

"Go get 'em, Boys", I said to the Big Five with a growl. Lola and then took to the sky and began wrangling in the out of control abominations little by little, until eventually Lola managed to form all of the moths into a battle formation.

"And last but not least", said Killer Moth as something else came out of the hole in the ground. This time it was a large floating platform, upon which were the five bird cages. The platform itself was also about the size of the balcony from the factory down below, making it more than big enough for us all to ride on. "Climb aboard, everyone", said Killer Moth as he flapped his mechanical wings and flew over to the platform's controls, with stood on a podium-like structure towards the center of the platform, complete with a steering wheel. "Fixit", asked Moth once we were all onboard.

"Now activating Shield Drone", said Fixit as the two armies began to glow red. "Shield Drone, cloaked and independent. Sensors also indicate that Professor Chang's army is on the move as well."

"Then let us do the same", said Killer Moth as his lifted the platform into the air. "Onward, Troops", he said as he dramatically pointed into the forest. Mad Mod's robot army immediately began marching underneath the platform, as Lola led the moth army overhead. Despite the fact that A) he was the enemy and I had to find a way to sabotage his takeover plans, and B) it was going to prove difficult to do on my own as I was _way_ outnumbered and the armies were currently being powered up by some invisible drone who's location was unknown, I had to admit, despite his idiocy and ignorance, Killer Moth's attack force was legitimately well organized.

"At this rate, we should approach the rendezvous point in approximately thirty minutes", said Fixit.

"Thirty minutes", asked Killer Moth. "Can't your tin cans go any faster?"

"Keep your pants on, Moth. I've got it covered", said Mad Mod as he pushed a button on his cane. His army of soldiers underneath us responded by marching faster, to the point where it would appear like a full-on sprint if we were observing them from on the ground. I barked up at the moths twice, and in response, Lola and the moth army began to fly faster in order to keep pace with the stampeding soldiers.

"Recalculating arrival time", began Fixit. "Destination approximately ten minutes away."

"That's better", said Killer Moth upon speeding up the platform to keep in time with the two armies. "So here's the deal, once we reach the city borders, we begin our takeover immediately."

"That's the extent of your plan, is it", asked Mad Mod. "If so, we're sunk."

"How so? We have more than enough fire power to blast anything that gets in our path!"

"Too true, however the whole point of this attack is to _take over_ the city, not destroy it!"

"Well then what's your plan, Genius?"

"Don't look at me, I'm just the pretty one."

"Ladies, please", I began interrupting them. "Since neither of you two have a plan then may I make a suggestion?"

"Sure, knock yourself out", said Mod.

"Why not just attack a single target and fan out from there? It'll get your point across, make your presence, it'll surely draw out the Titans, and you can scare the entire city into a panic every step of the way by simply getting there."

"You seem to know an awful lot about terrorizing people", added Mod.

"It isn't hard to do when everyone you meet is afraid of you." That comment wasn't a snarky remark. Most people who met me for the first time lost their minds upon finding out that I was a werewolf. That said, as an Elemental, I was all too familiar with forming battle and attack plans among the other Elementals and occasionally other allies, so simply applying it to people who are already afraid of me wasn't hard to do at all.

"Well now that we know _how_ we are going to attack, _what_ are we going to attack", asked Fang.

"Oooh! Oooh! I know", said an excited Kitten as she waved her hand in the air like a grade school student. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded up flier. "Let's start with this", she said as she held up the flier to her father.

"Jump City's Spring Fashion Show?"

"Perhaps I wasn't clear, Daddy, LET'S START WITH THIS", screamed Kitten as the rest of us covered our ears in response. I overheard Lola and her brothers shrieking up above as Kitten was apparently _that_ loud.

"Eh, why not", said Mad Mod as he looked over Kitten's shoulder to read the flier. "Says here that it'll be held at City Hall. Adoring crowd, beautiful girls, and knowing our pervy mayor he's bound to be in attendance."

"Who holds a fashion show at 7:00 am", asked Fang.

"Good question", I added.

"Who cares", asked a still raging Kitten. I just want the show destroyed! Who needs shopping malls when I have VIP access to the wardrobe of a model", asked Kitten as she began chuckling to herself.

"Geez, what a fitting name, "Kitten" is for such a catty woman", I muttered.

"Yeah, that's normal", said a facepalming Fang who apparently overheard my comment.

"I HEARD THAT!"

"Enough, Kitten", said Moth. "We'll target your fashion show. There we will hold the mayor captive. He'll make excellent bait."

"Good, _now_ we have a plan", said Mod.

"Wolfman", said Moth.

"Yes, Moth?"

"Take one of the Big Five with you and fly ahead. We still have a way to go before our forces even reach the city border, let alone City Hall."

"So basically you want me to be bait for the Titans in an attempt to give you the element of surprise." Moth growled at me for a moment in response to me calling him out. "Fine, whatever", I shrugged as I rose to my hind legs. "Nightmare", I shouted up to the moths. Upon hearing his name, the red-striped moth flew down onto the platform to meet me. I then mounted him as he took to the air. "Just be quick about it, Moth", I shouted behind me as Nightmare sped ahead towards Jump City.


	7. Showdown at City Hall

I waited until we were a good several miles ahead of Killer Moth and the armies before utilizing my Elemental abilities.

"Time to disappear", I said as I cloaked Nightmare and I in my aura, allowing us to fly freely into the city without anyone questioning the sight of a werewolf riding on the back of a giant moth. It didn't take us long to find City Hall. It was smack dab in the middle of the city, a perfect location for it. Upon reaching City Hall, Nightmare came in for a landing on top of the building.

As we looked down at the front of the building below, we noticed the stage and catwalk built diagonally from the front steps, with the back of the stage to the catwalk stretched from left to right parallel to the building's wall. Much to my surprise to find that the show had already started and there was still a huge crowd of people applauding the models as the walked across the catwalk.

The plan was simple, Nightmare would stay low on the roof of the building while I crept down the wall and snuck over to the back of the stage. Once there, I would take advantage of the fact that Killer Moth wasn't there watching me and use my psychic powers to tear off the rafter holding up all the light in order to form a crude corral to gather all the people in, along with help from Nightmare. I'd then use Nightmare to intimidate the mayor while we waited for either the Titans and/or Killer Moth to show up. It seemed so easy going over the plan in my head, but I started to panic a little upon noticing a particularly unexpected complication.

"What the? What's she doing here", I asked hysterically in response to the fact that I recognized one of the models that was currently walking on the catwalk. The model in question was Latina and wearing a pink dress which resembled a Japanese kimono with with bright red platform shoes. Her usually curly, brown hair was straightened and then tied up in a bun at the top of her head with a pair of chopsticks in it and a pink flower on the right side. She had a very confident walk, a favorite pose she's practiced since high school, and a lovely, and extremely inviting smile that showed off her lovely set of teeth as it stretched across her face.

Though she was merely looking in the general direction in which City Hall was and not looking directly at me, I still managed to notice my cousin flutter her eyes at a particular gentleman in the audience as she hid the rest of her face with a fan. He had short, brown hair that was dyed blonde at the tip, an interesting style.

"You must be Lucas. Fuck, and she's owning the stage, too. Why'd it have to be _this_ particular fashion show?" Upon hearing me complain, Nightmare nudged my back as if to reassure me. I petted his head as a "thank you". "Stay here and wait for my signal, okay?" Nightmare nodded in response as he fluttered his wings. "Good boy", I said to him as I petted him again while simultaneously scratching under his chin. "Stay low, Nightmare", I said to him finally as I crept over to the left edge (right edge if you were looking directly at City Hall) of the roof and Changed into my spider form as I began crawling downwards.

Once I made it to the ground, I used powers to teleport myself to the back of the stage. Once there, I began crawling up the blue curtain towards the rafters above, and it was then that someone spotted me.

"No way, Fernando", asked the young man who's voice I couldn't recognize at the time.

 _There is_ no _way he's talking to me. He couldn't have seen me._ Unfortunately I spun around to face the young man (I hadn't made it very far up the curtain yet), and sure enough, there stood another person I recognized. And to make matters worse, like my cousin, he was also a member of the Animal Horde that I led back in high school, which would explain why he both noticed and recognized me even though I was a spider at the time. _Fuck_ , I thought to myself upon realizing who it was. He was a black dude with an even smaller fro than mine, and he wore a sky blue suit with matching shoes.

"I knew that was you", he said as he walked up to me. I leapt from the curtain and Changed back into my human form as I greeted him.

"Hey, Pierce. It's been a while", I said as I shook his hand and then pulled him in for a bro hug.

"I know, right? It's been what, like four years?"

"Yeah, about that long", I chuckled. Hey, what're you doing here?"

"I should be asking _you_ that. Last I heard you were kickin' it up in Alaska."

"I was offered a new job and relocated down here" (I technically wasn't lying as I said that to him).

"Wow, small world. I'm an amateur talent agent. Monica's my very first client", he said as he pointed to the stage."

"I see."

"She's hot, am I right? I mean, wow!"

"Yeah, she's always been blessed with beauty", I said awkwardly upon remembering why I was even at the fashion show to begin with. As much as I wanted to reunite with two old friends as we teamed up to take down Killer Moth, I couldn't risk it since I still had yet to figure out how to get rid of Moth's invisible drone. as long as he had it, there was no way for me to free the Titans once he had captured them. And there was no way I could take on an army of a thousand robots in my weakened state even with the help of the Big Five.

"You okay, Man?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. By the way, I apologize in advance", I said to him as I looked around to see if anybody was watching us.

"Why? For what?"

"For this", I said to him sharply as I reached forward and began choking him.

"What're…..what're you….", struggled Pierce as he tried prying my hands off of his throat to no avail. Wanting to hurt him as little as possible, I eased his pain.

"Hypnosis", I whispered as I glared into his eyes with my yellow wolf eyes. Pierce then nodded off into a deep sleep as his body dropped to the ground with a thud. Before anyone could react to the sound of him dropping I quickly dragged his body and stashed it under the stage. "I hate that I had to do that", I said to myself as I stood back up after doing my dirty deed.

"Fernando, is that you?"

 _God dammit!_ "Hey, Cuz", I said nervously as I turned to see Monica, lovely as ever, with a smile on her face.

"Oh my gosh, I was really worried about you! I got that call from Ryan and—", said Monica as she rushed towards me for a hug but then stopped in her tracks when she looked down at the stage and saw Pierce's feet. I panicked when I noticed her about to scream as I teleported directly behind her and grabbed her, covering her mouth as I did so. Monica screamed through my hand as loud as she could as she tried to struggle away from me. I was forced to restrain her with my aura as well to prevent her from Changing.

"Please forgive me, Monica", I whispered to her as I utilized the pressure point on her neck, putting her into a deep sleep as well. And just as I did with Pierce, I was forced to drag her body under the stage. And as if things couldn't get any worse from that point, guess who came looking for his girlfriend upon realizing that she missed her cue?

"Monica? You back here, Babe?"

"Fucking come on", I muttered to myself as I was still crouched down after just stowing away Monica's body.

"Hey, Buddy", began Lucas as he walked over towards me, my back turned to him. "Did a girl in a pink dress come ba—", he began as I turned to face him, revealing both Monica and Pierce's feet to him. He glares at me with anger in his eyes as if preparing to fight me, but his attitude changed upon seeing my eyes turn yellow. "Oh shit", he exclaimed as he tried to run for help. I had no choice but to tackle him. "Help", he screamed as he wiggled on his stomach underneath me, almost knocking me off of him in the process.

"Shut up", I whispered as I Changed into my bear form while simultaneously covering his mouth with my paw. The added weight of being a bear worked in my favor as I was now too heavy for him to simply throw off of him. Unfortunately, somebody heard him and came to investigate. The woman screamed bloody murder upon seeing both the large bear attacking the young man, as well as the presumably dead bodies underneath the stage. "Fuck!" She then ran back to the crowd, continuing to scream as she did so, which despite nobody but her at that point even saw me, already was starting to cause panic among the crowd. "There's no choice now", I muttered as I lifted up Lucas and dragged him over to where Monica and Pierce were. I then dropped him to the ground and proceeded to handcuff him using the spider webs I shot out of my paws.

"Let me go, you son of a bitch!"

"Listen, Lucas", I said leaning into his face. "She's fine, okay. She's just asleep. I promise you, she's okay, and you will be, too. Just stay here", I said to him as I rose to my hind legs and then leapt into the air, grabbing onto one of the metal rafters as I did so. I then Changed into my lion form as I began climbing to the top. "I hope I'm not too late yet." Upon reaching the top of the rafters, I saw the humans down below scrambling to try and run to safety. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to let them leave. I let out a loud roar, which scared the already panicky crowd even more now that they could see their attacker, but it also doubled as Nightmare's signal as he leapt over the edge of the roof and dove down at the people.

It took some doing, but with Nightmare's help, I did manage to corral all the people into one place using my psychic powers to tear off the metal rafters. Between the stage and the catwalk, there was a total of eight metal rafters for me to use, which was just enough to corral the panicky crowd as I laid the rafters around them in a circle. Once that was done, I quickly began weaving a web over the top of the rafters. This would make it to where the citizens could neither join together to push the rafters, nor try to climb up and over them. I was about halfway done with the web I heard the sound of police sirens approaching.

"Nightmare, go!" Despite him being a bug of brute force, Nightmare, much like his sister, was pretty intelligent. Upon hearing my command, I wasn't sure what to expect from him as I simply commanded him to "take care" of the three police cars that pulled up. That said, Nightmare shocked both me and the police officers as he rammed into the side of the first car, denting its side so bad that they couldn't get out through that side of the car. He then drove the car into a stairwell across the street from City Hall that led to the basement of somebody's apartment. Upon doing so, the car got stuck between the railing, trapping the cops inside as there was no way for them to get out without fatally hurting themselves on the concrete stairs underneath them. As for the other two cars, Nightmare gave them a similar treatment as he dented the front of both cars, pinning the officers inside each one in place as the dented car pressed down on their legs from the outside in. "Good boy, Nightmare", I called to the moth as I finished my web. The crowd below me was still a bit rowdy as some of them went from panicking in fear, to nagging and heckling in anger.

"Who the Hell do you think you are keeping us in here like this", shouted some random citizen among the crowd. He and everyone else shut up immediately when I let out a tyrannosaurus roar.

"Keep quiet", I commanded them with a growl as I searched through the people. "Aha! There you are", I said once I spotted the mayor. He was a rather short white man with a balding scalp and a pink suit. With a snap of my fingers, I teleported him out of the corral and into my grasp as I grabbed the front of his suit and pulled him into my face and growled at him.

"Please, please don't kill me", pleaded the yellow-bellied man as he began to cry in my grasp. "I swear I'll never look at a woman again!" The fact that _that_ was his argument for trying to convince me to spare him confirmed that he probably was as much of a pervert as Mad Mod predicted. It was then that my ears began to twitch as I heard a familiar sound.

I closed my eyes for a moment as the world around me grew quiet. The only thing I could hear at that point were two things, my heartbeat, and the heartbeat of another as it staggered mine.

"They're here", I said to the mayor upon opening my eyes and glaring at him again.

"Put the mayor down, now." Upon hearing his voice, I turned to my left to see Robin and the others, including Cyborg with a replacement hand despite me slicing one of them off the day before, standing where the sidewalk met the street, the T-Car right behind them. "I won't tell you again", warned Robin as he pulled out his bo-staff. Without looking away from the Titans, though I made absolutely sure not to look anywhere near Raven, as she had recovered from her bedrest as was now back to join her friends, I clicked my tongue, calling Nightmare over to me.

"Here, hold this", I said to him as I handed him the mayor. "Thank you", I said to him as he flew the mayor towards the top of City Hall.

"What do you have to say for yourself", asked Robin. "Well", he asked again when I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell them what real intentions as it would ruin the chances of it succeeding, and the truth of the matter was, I didn't want to fight them, but I had no choice.

"Is this the way it is going to be", asked Starfire as she floated forward. Upon focussing my attention towards her, I found myself accidentally looking at Raven as well, as she was hovering to the side of her.

The look I saw on her face broke my heart, as I could see disappointment in her eyes as she looked at me. I went through so much over the past few days upon meeting her, trying to prove myself as a hero and gain the trust of her and her team. Now I stood before her as a villain, who was currently holding the mayor, five police officers, and about a couple hundred innocent people, including my cousin and her boyfriend, hostage, all because I was under the employ of a madman. I blinked a few times as I tried to fight the urge to cry.

"This is the way it _must_ be", I responded. I then let out a roar as I leapt off of the rafters and charged at the Titans.

"Titans, go", shouted Robin as he and his teammates separated just as I approached him. I caught his bo-staff in my jaws as he swung it at me, resulting in us pushing against each other trying to overpower our opponent. Our power struggle came to an end however as Cyborg open fired on my left flank, sending me flying into a nearby street lamp in the process. While I was down, Starfire began dive-bombing towards me as she blasted me with star bolts.

 _Hurry it up, Moth! I'm dying out here_ , I thought to myself as I shielded myself from the blasts with my arms. Without the use of my Elemental powers, it was going to be difficult to work around Starfire and Cyborg's blasts, even moreso now that Raven was with them this time.

A lucky break was offered to me when Starfire gained a false sense of security as she temporarily ceased firing star bolts, but continued to rush at me. In response to this, I lunge at her, delivering an uppercut punch right under her chin. As Starfire crashed landed a few feet away on her back, it was Robin who was the first to react to my punching her, not that I blamed him. He swung at me with intense ferocity as I just barely managed to dodge his attacks. He was kinda scary when he was mad.

Robin eventually drove me backwards back towards the street lamp again. It was then that Robin swung at me one last time, except this time he was slower than with his other attacks, so I had more than enough time to catch his staff in my paws, holding him in place as I did so.

"Cyborg, now", shouted Robin as he abandoned his staff and jump-kicked me in the face. Before I could retaliate, He snatched back his staff and retreated, just as Cyborg blasted me again with his proton cannon, once again sending my crashing into the street lamp, though he kept me pinned there for a moment as the energy blast kept pushing me into the lamp. While I was trapped there, Starfire returned to the fight, creating a giant star bolt and hurling it at me while I was pinned. The resulting explosion was so intense that I was tempted to pass out right then and there as I fell to the ground to my hands and knees.

"It's over, Wolfman", said Robin. "Give it up." Wincing in pain as I did so, I managed to rise to my feet, leaning one hand against the street lamp. I then wrapped my arms around the lamp yanked it as hard as I could. Despite my being exhausted, my lycanthropy gave me enough strength rip the street lamp out of the sidewalk.

"Not yet", I said as I swung the street lamp towards me left at the Titans. Beast Boy and the girls dodged my attack with ease, while Robin dodged it just barely as the street managed to hit one of his feet in midair as he tried to jump over it.

Cyborg screamed in pain as I managed to hit him from the side, but he quickly recovered by grabbing onto the street lamp and began trying to pull it away from me. While the two of us engaged in a tug of war with the street lamp, I noticed something crawling on top of it towards me.

"Is that a mouse", I asked as the rodent ran closer and closer to me. By the time I noticed that the mouse was green, he was already too close to dodge as he morphed into a ram and headbutted my nose. I whined a canine whine as I stumbled backwards grasping my nose in my paws as the ram started charging at me again. The ram morphs into a wolf in midair as he lunges at me. I responded to this by Changing into a bear and swatting the wolf out of the air with my paw by hitting him on the nose. Like me, Beast Boy whined for a moment as he held his nose in his paws. _"How do_ you _like it"_ , I growled at him.

My boasting came to a screeching halt upon being blasted by a black aura from behind my back. The blast throws me forward a few feet as I land on my stomach a few feet away from the rafters the people were trapped in. Upon seeing my ass being handed to me, the prisoners began cheering as it looked like their heroes were going to save them.

"Please, Fernando, stop this", said Raven. Upon hearing her address me by my real name, I managed to find the strength to stand back up. However, my body was so weak that I accidentally Changed into my wolf form upon doing so.

"I, can't, Raven", I panted due to exhaustion with my back still turned to her. I heard Nightmare shriek from on top of City Hall. He was about to rush down at the Titans as he was pissed off at watching his Alpha being beaten up. I roared up at him upon realizing this, ordering him to stay right where he was. I then slowly turned around to face the Titans. They were anxious to see what my next move would be. My muscles ached as I glared at the Titans. They were _really_ giving me a beating, and it didn't help that I was holding back.

"Come on, Man, I know this isn't you", began Cyborg. "What happened to the Wolfman we recruited who went out of his way to help that little girl?"

 _Cyborg_ , I thought to myself as I lowered my ears and tail.

"What happened to the Wolfman that saved my life when I was unconscious? What happened to the Wolfman that longed to be looked at as a hero?"

 _I'm right here, Cyborg_ , I thought to myself as I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I went through a lot of shit just to get to where I was currently standing, and I did it because I thought it was the best thing to do to protect those I cared about. Now that I was finally there facing the Titans, all I could feel was guilt after having to hurt so many of my friends. I was just about to throw in the towel and surrender, when I heard another shriek.

My ears shot up upon hearing Nightmare shriek, though this time he was calling for help. Nightmare shrieked as loud as he could until eventually I heard another shriek in the distance. It was Lola, and she was approaching fast. Reinforcements had finally arrived.

" _Alpha, Alpha"_ , shrieked an excited Nightmare as I turned back to him. _"The cage, Alpha! The cage!"_ Upon hearing that, I gained a new sense of hope as I rose to my hind legs and pounded on my chest, releasing another tyrannosaurus roar upon doing so. I then leapt out in front of me and charged at the Titans again. In response Starfire and Cyborg began blasting away at me again.

 _Agility_ , I thought to myself as I continued my path towards the Titans, dodging every one of their attacks as I did so. Seeing that I was getting to close for comfort, Beast Boy then morphs into an ox and charges ahead at me. When he was close enough I jumped onto his head and kicked off from it as I lunged at Raven, kicking Beast Boy forward in the process.

Raven, stunned by my fake out hesitates as I tackled her out of the air. The two of us tumble over each other for a few moments until eventually I managed to get under her and kicked out my legs, throwing her up in the air. Before Raven could even react, Killer Moth's secret weapon finally arrives out of seemingly nowhere as it zooms over and captures Raven out of the air.

"Yes", I said to myself upon seeing Raven getting caught. With her now out of the fight, I didn't have to hold back anymore.

"Raven", cries out Starfire as Raven's cage hovers overhead.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", she shouts as she tries to blast her way out. However, just as Moth had said, the cages were resistant to magic. "No way", said a shocked Raven upon realizing she couldn't get out.

"Hang tight, Raven. I'll get you out", said Cyborg as he pointed one of his cannons at the cage.

"Um, Dudes", asked a nervous Beast Boy, now back in his human form, as he motioned towards the oncoming fleet of enemies. Killer Moth and the others arrived on the floating platform as if floated over the corral I built, the moth army hovering around them. As for Mod's robot army, they had just finished stampeding around the building as they they lined up in ranks directly in front of and around the corral as they pointed their rifles at the Titans. Mod's army was also joined by a several dozen other soldiers who I assumed were Professor's Chang's soldiers based on the fact that they were wearing suits similar to Chang's. Each one was equipped with what looked like a long branding iron, except electricity flowed through it. "Oh, crud."

"Killer Moth", said Robin.

"We meet again, Robin. I see you've already met my newest associate, Wolfman", said Moth as he pointed behind them towards me. With the Titans distracted I ran and jumped over them as I ran towards the armies. "And look who else I brought along with me", he continued as he motioned over towards Kitten, Fang, Fixit, and Mad Mod who all stood by his side.

"Hi, Robipoo", said Kitten with a wave and a wink.

"Ugh", said Robin as he shivered from disgust.

"Kitten", growled Starfire as her eyes burned green.

"Yo, is that Fixit up there", asked Cyborg as he pointed up to his fellow cyborg.

"Much has changed since we last met", replied Fixit.

"Well here's something that never gets old", said Robin as he pulled out three of his energy discs. Upon anticipating what was about to happen, me and Chang's soldiers fell back a bit as we shielded ourselves behind Mod's soldiers. "Cyborg, Sonic Boom", shouted Robin as he threw the three discs at the robot soldiers.

"Boo-yah", shouted Cyborg as he fired at the three discs in midair. The already powerful explosions from the discs were amplified dramatically by Cyborg's cannon so much that the explosion caused a strong white light to form, blinding everyone nearby until the light vanished.

"Did we win", asked Beast Boy as the light began to die down. He shrieked in shock as the smoke cleared to reveal that not only did the robot soldiers not budge, there wasn't so much as a scratch on any one of them.

"You just had to ask, didn't you", asked Cyborg sarcastically.

"Playtime is over", chuckled Moth.

"Titans, fall back", shouted Robin in an attempt to retreat and regroup.

"Don't let them get away", shouted Moth as the three armies all charged ahead, except for the Big Five, who stayed behind to check up on me, with the exception of Nightmare, who was still guarding the mayor. The Titans all tried to fight back and escape, but to no avail. With several of them already exhausted, and the robots all blastproof, there was nothing they could do to defend themselves. It was also during this struggle that I learned why Mad Mod referred to his soldiers as "hypno-soldiers". Each of his robots was equipped with a hypno screen on its hat, which apparently was Beast Boy's kryptonite as he was relatively easy to capture because of them. Eventually, the three armies managed to capture and lock away Beast Boy, Cyborg, and finally Starfire in their cages. As for Robin, Moth had special plans for him as two of Mod's hypno-bots kept him trapped in their grasp, each one holding on to one of Robin's arms as he hung in midair between them.

"I'll take that", said Kitten as she reached for Robin's utility belt. Robin responded to this by wrapping his legs around Kitten's back and pulling her into him. "Oh, Robin, you're so bold", purred Kitten as she clawed at the air playfully. Robin was in no mood for this as he begins crushing Kitten between her legs, to a point where she screams in pain as the sound of her back popping could be heard. Kitten retaliates by punching Robin in the one weak spot that every male was born with, which naturally got Robin to scream in pain as well as his grip is loosened on her. "How dare you", screamed Kitten as she slaps Robin across the face. She then goes on the claim his belt for herself. "Of all the nerve", she mutters to herself as she stomps away from him. Killer Moth then steps forward to speak (all of the villains having left the floating platform at this point), pausing for a moment to unleash an evil laugh before doing so.

"People of Jump City, I, Killer Moth present to you, Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans!" The prisoners responded by booing and heckling Moth in response as the beaten and weakened Robin was being put on display in a manner similar to that of Jesus' crucifixion.

"Robin", shouted an extremely worried Starfire.

"Put him down", shouted Cyborg.

"Does six feet under count as "down"", asked Mad Mod with a snicker.

"Silence", shouted Moth as he cracked his energy whip at Mod's feet. "I've had to sit back and watch my swarm get destroyed over and over and over again at the hands of this little brat! Now that I have him in my possession, I will finally have my revenge, and you will not ruin this for me!"

"Relax, Moth. Nobody's stopping you from doing the little bugger in."

"I am", I said as I rose onto my paws and stepped forward.

"What did you say", challenged Moth.

"You heard me. You won't be killing Robin in front of all of these people. I will." I noticed Moth getting ready to crack his whip at me for my insolence, so I quickly continued as this was my last chance to try and turn the tables in the Titans' favor.

"We had a deal, Moth. You said that if I helped you take over the city, we would rule together. Well, here we are. You got what you wanted. The city is cowering before you, you have a powerful army at your disposal, and Robin is beaten and broken before all of his adoring fans just waiting to be put out of his misery. But don't forget about me.

It was _I_ who you came to for help when you couldn't control your army. It was _I_ who set the final phase of your plan into motion. It was _I_ who disposed of that intruder to protect your precious swarm. It was _I_ who corrected you on your attack plans so that you would be guaranteed victory. And it was _I_ who secured your rule when you sent me ahead to lure the Titans out for you, thus setting the stage for your rise to power. Well now it's time to pay up.

I never got to finish my battle with Robin. Release him and let us fight. You've got the mayor, you've got your army, you've got the city, you've got the power, and you've got his friends. So let me fight him. Let me get my revenge on this one by killing her mate as she watches helplessly from behind bars", I demanded as I pointed up at Starfire's cage. "And give him back his belt, too. I want to beat him at his best, not with a handicap." Killer Moth paused for a moment, and then walked over to me in silence as I stood there, looking up at him as he towered over me.

"Alright, you have my blessing", said Killer Moth as he squats down for a minute to pet me again, which sent chills down my spine again as it felt weird whenever he touched me. "Kitten, give the lad back his toys."

"Hmph, good luck", said Kitten as she threw the belt at Robin's feet as the two robot guards released their grip on him, dropping him to the ground as he did so. Robin then groans in pain as he manages to rise to his feet, buckling his belt around his waist as he did so. He then pulls out two of his birdarangs, then he somehow manages to merge them together to make a sword, raising the question of, how the Hell they were designed if any two of them could create a sword.

"You'll pay for what you did to these people", warned Robin as he assumed a battle stance, pointing his sword at me as he did so. I simply growled at him in response as I began circling around him.

"Now I _really_ need a good seat for this", said Moth as I overheard him flapping his wings. I glanced back at him for a moment to see him return to his floating platform that was still hovering in the air.

"What're you waiting for", asked a now eager Robin.

"A good hunter takes his time", I said to him in an attempt to stall.

"You think this is a game? Is this all a big laugh for you? Do you "get off" knowing how many people you've terrorized?"

"Does it truly matter at this point? No matter what I do, no matter where I go, no matter what sacrifices I have to make in order to survive, the world will always continue to see me as a monster, and you're no different."

"What a pathetic way to see the world."

"Yeah well, life is full of disappointment, isn't it?"

"And to think, I actually came here hoping that you would be fighting against the criminals responsible for terrorizing the city, but instead I find you assisting them. When we found Beast Boy unconscious yesterday, I thought I might've made a mistake about you, as it looked like you were looking out for him. The distress signal did come from _your_ communicator after all."

"Was I _really_ helping your friend Beast Boy safely find his way home? Or was I simply creating a distraction in order to give you all the slip? Who's to say which is fact?"

"Oh for crying out loud, just kill each other already", heckled a bored Mad Mod.

"You heard him, Robin", I growled.

"No more chances, Wolfman. I may not be able to free the others, or even myself for that matter, but I _will_ take you down or die trying. One last fight, either you go, or I go."

"Then so be it", I said with a roar. Robin responded with a battle cry as the two of us began charging at one another.


	8. A Hero Revealed

Once the two of us were close enough to each other, the slash fight truly kicked off as Robin did everything in his power to avoid my claws, while simultaneously trying to skewer me with his sword. The struggle was just as tedious for me as it was for him as I was constantly struggling to connect with my target as a sword was constantly being swung at me.

The equally-matched fight took a turn when Robin came down with his sword similar to how one would come down with an axe. He was aiming at my torso as it seemed he was trying to slice me open. I managed to catch the blade at the last minute by locking my fingers together, turning my palms (or rather the undersides of my paws) towards the blade, resulting in my claws banding together to make a crude shield as Robin and I pushed against each other in yet another power struggle. The situation was even more intense considering the fact that as I was fighting Robin, I was having panicky inner rants as I scrambled to figure out what to do next.

 _I bought me some time, but not a whole lot of it. If I don't find out where that invisible drone is soon, there's going to be a_ lot _of blood on my hands. But I can't use my powers to locate it, because the moment I do, and I miss, Killer Moth will turn on me, as will his robot legion, and in my current state, I have no hope of defeating him without the Titans. I'm barely able to defend myself from Robin as I've driven him to straight up murder at this point. There's got to be a way to locate this drone, but I can't hear anything out of the ordinary and this drone probably smells like any one of these tin men. Tin men….tin man….cyborg….cyborg, that's it_ , I thought to myself upon coming up with an idea.

While continuing to push against Robin's sword, I gradually side-stepped in an attempt to spin us around. Robin, thinking I was trying to get the best of him, mirrored my action until we eventually positioned ourselves to where I could look behind Robin's back to see, among the villains and armies, Fixit, standing on the sidelines.

 _I hope this works_ , I thought as I entered Fixit's mind. It was then that I witnessed a recent memory of when the drone was being built. Fixit was not only aware of the invisible drone, but he designed and built it. I watched from a third-person view as Fixit and Killer Moth discussed the production of the drone from a laboratory back at the underground lair.

"How dare you question my moth army", shouted an angry Killer Moth. "I designed every nut and bolt in every single one of them! Who are _you_ to tell me that their designs are flawed and incomplete?"

"Forgive the misunderstanding, Master, but I simply suggested a defense for the swarm."

"What kind of defense", asked a pissed Killer Moth as he grabbed Fixit by his throat and hoisted him up. Despite his silly costume and child-like temper tantrums, he, like Mammoth, was pretty strong for a human.

"A defense against the Titans", gasped Fixit as Killer Moth choked him, which was one of the few times I ever heard him speak in any tone of voice outside of his monotone.

"Go on", said Moth as he dropped him having now been intrigued.

"War machines are designed to destroy and crush everything in their path, but there comes a risk. As no amount of metal can make a machine indestructible, all that is required is to a strike from something just as powerful, if not more powerful to destroy it. It will be the same with your cybernetic army unless you find a way to shield them. I can make that a reality, Master."

"How?"

"A stealth drone who's only purpose will be to cloak the metal that created your swarm and make it resistant to explosives, man-made weapons, and magic, thus making you more powerful than the Titans."

"How can you know for certain that this will work?"

"The drone is modeled after my own circuitry. Only I can control its activation and deactivation, so you need not ever worry about those who stand against you ever finding out about its existence."

"I must say, Fixit, for once I'm impressed with you. Begin construction of this drone immediately", said Moth as he left the laboratory having heard all he needed to hear.

"Yes, Master." The memory then fast forwards ahead to earlier today, today being the day Killer Moth took over, when we all met in the meadow to summon the troops. Upon Fixit activating the drone, I could see through his eyes where it was located. Fixit was lying when he told Killer Moth that it'd be independent in its movements. The drone was directly above the army the entire time. Even when Fixit arrived at City Hall with the armies, the drone was still several dozen feet above the battle directly below it, in fact, as I glossed through Fixit's memories, I realized that Robin and I were currently standing directly underneath it.

 _Perfect! I knew you were human, Fixit_ , I thought to myself with a grin as I exited the Fixit's mind, returning to my power struggle with Robin, who appeared to be winning due to me being "elsewhere" at the time. Upon seeing my grin, I noticed the cyborg snuck a grin of his own, as if he knew I discovered where the drone was.

"I will end this fight", said Robin as he gritted his teeth trying to overpower me.

"As usual, Robin, you are correct again. In fact you're gonna help me end it."

"I'm not helping you with anything."

"We'll see about that", I said with a snarl as I gained a second wind and began pushing back against Robin. I then thrusted my paws upward, parting them as I did so. As a result, Robin lost his grip on his sword as it was tossed into the air. Before he could react, I kicked him square in the chest, which threw him backwards a few feet, and then immediately leapt into the air after his sword. It was there that I sliced it in half with my claws, as they tended to be sharper than any blade.

Upon returning to the ground, I landed on my hind paws, as I assumed a generic battle position that humans made. I then gave Robin a cocky taunt as I motioned him towards me with the four (not thumb) fingers on my right paw as if to say, "show me what you got" or "bring it on". I usually refrained from such behavior in battle, especially when facing a worthy opponent like Robin, but I needed something from him at the time, so I was more than willing to make an exception just that once.

 _Come on, Robin, do it! You've got no staff, you've got no sword, and you're out of birdarangs. You've only got one more weapon in that bag of tricks you call a belt left, use it!_ Robin, angered by my taunting, took my bait and pulled out one of his energy discs, or so I thought. Apparently I managed to piss him off so much that what I thought was one energy disc, the movement of his right hand revealed that he had two other discs directly behind the one I could see at the time, was really three discs. _Even better_ , I thought to myself as a grin stretched across my face due to excitement, which I also used as I taunt as I purposely grinned in a matter that allowed my sharp canine teeth to hang over my lip (again, if wolves had lips).

"Does _this_ help", asked Robin as he hurled the three discs at me."

"Does this answer your question", I asked as I lifted my right paw and stretched out my fingers. The three discs then stopped and floated in place as I used my psychic powers to gain control of them. "Thank you, Robin", I said as Robin assumed another battle stance as if preparing himself to dodge the blasts. "I couldn't have done it without you." I then let out a roar as I turned and hurled the discs high into the air. I followed that up by leaping up after them in preparation for my signature attack.

"What's he doing", asked Killer Moth as I curled up my body as I charged up my aura. It was at that point that I overheard Cyborg make a comment as well.

"Here it comes", he said in reference to his memory of the last time I used this particular attack.

"MORADO LASER", I screamed as I released my aura, which resulted in a moon-shaped beam of energy shooting out of my torso. The beam then pulled a page out of Robin and Cyborg's book as it duplicated their "Sonic Boom" attack from earlier, only three times stronger. As expected, the white light blinded us all, and didn't fade until I was back on the ground. When I came to, everyone was in deep silence and they wondered what I had accomplished. The silence was broken went out of the sky, a disc-shaped piece of machinery crash landed directly in front of Robin as it started smoking and sparking.

"Okay, I'm lost", said Beast Boy as he was the first to speak.

"What else is new", asked Raven sarcastically.

"That, was my drone", began a furious Killer Moth as he looked like he was about to explode based on the way his body shook, "which only one person here knew about. FANG", commanded Killer Moth as he pointed below at Fixit. Without question, Fang shrieked as he lunged at Fixit yet again. I roared in response to this, sending Lola into action as she intercepted Fang by slamming into his left flank in midair, sending him crashing into a few of Mad Mod's weakened robots as a bunch of them fell over like dominoes.

"Fang, you stupid git", shouted Mad Mod upon seeing how weak he was making his army look. Lola then approaches Fixit as she grabs him and flies him over to my side of the battlefield, away from the villains. Upon seeing their sister do this, Killer, Nightmare, Jiant, and Grinder flew over to my side as well, Nightmare bringing the mayor with him, as they are were more then willing to turn on their dreaded "Master" Killer Moth.

"My apologies, Sir", I said to the mayor as Nightmare put him down beside me. The mayor responded by sprinting away in fear as he ran behind us to go hide behind the wrecked police cars.

"My drone was one thing, Wolfman, but my servants, too", shouted Moth. "After everything I did for you, you go and betray me?"

"How can I betray you, when I was never on your side to begin with?"

"And for the record", began Fixit as he boldly stepped forward to speak to Moth, "I was never your servant, nor will I ever serve you again." Killer Moth growls and then follows it with a loud, angry scream as he pulls out what looked like a ray gun and fires it at Fixit.

"No", I shouted as I leapt forward and put up an aura shield around Fixit, which absorbed the blast. Unfortunately, I was too busy focussing on him, that I took my eyes off of Moth, who fired his gun again, at me. I let out a loud howl as the pain from the blast was so intense that I fell to the ground on my side, forcing me to finally reveal my human form to the villains in the process.

"Ewww", said Kitten upon looking my human form over. "I am _not_ impressed." I overheard Fang chuckle to himself a little upon hearing her say that as he rose to his feet.

"I'll teach you to challenge me", said Moth as he pointed the gun at me again. "Nobody crosses Killer Moth!" Before he could pull the trigger, the gun is knocked out of his hand as something red and sharp cuts the back of his hand. Killer Moth shouts in pain for a brief moment as it is revealed that it was Robin who intervened, apparently still having a few birdarangs left after all as the one he threw returns to his hand. He then walks over towards me and places himself in front of me.

"You want to kill him, you'll have to get through me first."

"Attack", shouts Killer Moth as he points at us. The armies do as they did before and begin to charge at us. Their rampage gets interrupted as something shot out of the ground in front of them. At first, it was a geyser of a black aura, but then the aura suddenly morphed into a giant raven as it spread its wings and squawked at the armies underneath it.

"Azarath Metrion", began Raven as she floated beside my head as she lifted her hands above her head, causing the aura raven to fly up a few feet into the air above the robots, "ZINTHOS", she shouts as she throws her hands down. The aura raven responded to this by crashing down on the robots, causing a series of small explosions as the robots were either tossed like rag dolls, severely damaged, or destroyed immediately. Upon seeing this, Mad Mod's jaw drops and hangs open. "And me", she continued having broken out of her weakened cage and prepared to rejoin the fight. It was then that I heard the sound of metal clanging on the ground behind us as the others broke out of their cages and made their way over to us.

"And me", said Starfire.

"I'm in, too", Beast Boy.

"And I know you can't forget about me", said Cyborg with a grin as he cracked his knuckles.

"Thank you", I said weakly as I looked up at the Titans who had formed a wall around me.

"Like I said, that's what friends are for", said Raven as she squatted down and cradled my head. She then immediately began restoring my energy as her warm, white aura washed over my body. I purred in response as my tail began to wag uncontrollably.

"See? I told you you were a hero", teased Cyborg. I chuckled in response.

"That's it", said Mad Mod as he stomped on the ground for a moment like an angry child. "Ive had enough of this rubbish! Don't just stand there, you bumbling bug, get him", he commanded to Fang.

"You're not the boss of me", retorted Fang as he lifted himself up with his spider legs to make himself taller and more intimidating. "I won't fight just because you told me to!"

"Fine, then _I_ will", said a female voice from off to the villains' left (our right). Before anyone could respond to her, the bald eagle then swoops down on Fang's face as she scratches a few of his eyes with her talons, causing the spider to shriek in pain as she did so. With the spider temporarily blind for a brief moment, another surprise came in the form of an ostrich as he ran at Fang from behind and rammed into him, throwing him onto his face as he fell over. Monica then flew away towards me and the Titans as Pierce ran on top of the robot army's heads, hopping from bot to bot as he did so.

"You weren't about to start the party without us now, were you", asked Pierce as he came to a stop in front of Robin as Monica came in for a landing on his back.

"Oh, what good are you", asked Mad Mod as he kicked Fang in anger as he laid with his face in the dirt. "Taken down, not by the Titans, but by a couple of bird brains?"

"That's what happens when you mess with the Horde", retorted an offended Monica.

"Yeah, long live the Prince of Darkness", added Pierce.

"The Prince of what", asked Killer Moth.

"Bloody Hell", shouted a shocked Mod. "No fucking wonder the mutt's got psychic powers! Moth, you brought home an Elemental, you stupid wanker!"

"Indeed", said Professor Chang with a booming voice from an unknown location. Upon hearing his voice, the ground began to shake.

"Oh great, now what", asked Cyborg. Everyone then turned their attention towards a cliff that could be seen on the outskirts of the city as it was high enough to look down on the buildings below. At the top of the cliff was what looked like a planetarium, though it looked abandoned as it looked like somebody had bombed the place. It was there that a giant cannon, one as wide as the planetarium itself as it destroyed the building upon appearing, rises up from out of the cliff, pointing out towards the ocean as if to show off how big it was.

"Perhaps you'd like to speed up the healing process, please", said a nervous Starfire to Raven.

"Yeah, I'm working on it." It was then that a giant hologram of Chang's head appeared in front of the cliff facing the city.

"Don't even bother, you fools! There is nothing you can do to defend yourself from my new and improved Disintegrator Cannon! Improved so that I have enough power to wipe the entire city off the map!"

"Chang", challenged Killer Moth as he shouted at the hologram.

"Have you completely lost it, Chang", asked Mod. "We're still down here, not to mention your own soldiers!"

"You address that as if I care", said Chang. "Who cares if my pawns become collateral damage? Now that I have the ultimate weapon at my disposal, I don't need them anymore. Their services will no longer be required", he said as the cannon rotated towards us.

"Raven, Wolfman, think you guys can deflect the blast", asked Robin.

"Let's hope so", I said I then rose to my feet and stepped forward, Raven joining me at my side.

"Counting down in 3", began Chang as Raven and I took to the air, "2", he continued as the inside of the cannon's barrel began to glow red, "1", he said finally as the cannon started to hum as it prepared to fire, "firing cannon now!" Upon him saying that there was a loud "boom" accompanied by a blinding flash of red as Raven and I combined our auras out in front of us to create a single large shield. The flash was short-lived as it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. When we all could see again, we looked back at the cannon to see that the barrels had broken off, and what remained of the cannon was smoking. "What?! NO!"

"Well that was a ripoff", said Raven sarcastically.

"Yeah, but I'll take it", I responded to her. It was then that a yellow aura-like light appeared at the bottom of the cannon as beams began shooting out from under it. This continued for a few moments until the earth began to shake again, this time, due to the cliff the cannon was built on beginning to crumble.

"No! No no no no no no! NO", shouted a panicky Professor Chang just before his hologram faded out. The cliff then broke apart completely, crumbling into the sea below as it took the Disintegrator Cannon and Chang with it. Once he was gone and the earth stopped shaking, all was silent again.

"Um, o-kay", said Cyborg awkwardly breaking the silence. I looked over at Raven, who simply shrugged as she had no idea what had just happened.

"Well then", I said just before hurling a Shadow Ball at the still stunned villains.

"Grrrr, get them now", shouted Killer Moth upon busting out his energy whip again. The remaining robots and soldiers charged ahead at us just as they did before, as if nothing had happened for the past few minutes.

"Titans, go", shouted Robin as he led eleven out of thirteen of us into battle. Cyborg and Fixit fell back towards the cop cars for some reason. I remember feeling a sense of pride as not only was I fighting alongside the Titans in an epic battle against evildoers, but I was joined by my old friends, Monica and Pierce, as well as my new friends, Lola, Nightmare, Killer, Grinder, and Jiant. This feeling of unity was damn near identical to the feeling I felt whenever I fought alongside the other Elementals.

Eventually I found myself without an opponent as I looked around at everyone fighting somebody else among the crowd. I looked up at the floating platform to see Killer Moth, who while angry at my betrayal, looked down at the fighting like a coward. I snarled in response to this as I ran towards him, only to be tackled by Fang, who was still bitter with me. It didn't take long for the spider hybrid, now with several scratches across his eyes and a giant bruise on his forehead, to pin me onto my back as I was in my human form at the time due to me not fighting anyone.

"Are you shocked", asked Fang as he looked down at me.

"You tell me", I responded as I sent volts of electricity up his legs, causing him to shriek in pain. I stopped when I noticed his body being cloaked in a black aura as he was lifted off of me.

"Nice bruise", said Raven as she lifted Fang higher into the air. "Here, have another", she continued as she slammed him on the ground behind her, pausing a moment to look back at me and wink. I nodded in response just before rolling off of my back and continuing towards Killer Moth in my wolf form.

 _Lobomon armor-digivolve to…. Gizamon, the Wolf of Faith_ , I thought to myself as I Changed into my armored form and took to the air. Killer Moth then tried to escape by flying his platform higher, so I chased him. I was stopped for a moment when four of Moth's zombie moths surrounded me. I growled at them in irritation preparing to fight them, but my friends gave me a hand. One of the moths was lured away due to Monica swooping in and scratching at its face just before it chased her, another was tackled by Pteranodon Beast Boy, and the other two were shot down by Cyborg, who had returned from the sidelines.

"We've got the clowns covered, you go get the ring master", called Cyborg up to me. I nodded in response as I took off after Killer Moth again. Upon realizing that he was a bit too far away to waste time chasing, I opened another shadow portal and dove in, leaping out of the floor of the platform as I left the Shadow Zone, which startled Killer Moth.

"Time to join your friends", said Moth as he prepared to crack his whip in reference to the kidnapped Elementals, which pissed me off.

"Time for _you_ to join _yours_ , in Hell", I responded with a growl. Killer Moth, having lost all patience at this point, then cracks his whip at me, which I easily dodged. With Raven having restored my energy and after having fought countless enemies prior to Killer Moth, fighting him was barely a challenge. Eventually I managed to rip his mechanical wings off of his back, which kept him still long enough for me to bite the back of his costume and fly him off of the platform with the threat of dropping him. "Any last words", I asked him through my teeth.

"Yes, five. If I go, they go", said Moth as he pushed a button on his left wrist. Upon doing so, the platform's flying systems began to die down. It was at that moment I noticed how high up we were. We were so high up that we were surrounded by clouds in every direction, and down below looked like a map as we could see the borders of not only Jump City, but damn near every city in the state of California.

"Oh shit", I said as the platform began to plummet to the earth below. I was about to use my aura to catch it, but Moth wouldn't give up as he elbowed me in the face. I stumbled in midair for a moment trying to focus on the task at hand as Killer Moth continued to squirm in my grasp, still trying to pick a fight. During this ordeal, he managed to free himself and climb onto my back, where he then tried to wrap his arms around my neck.

"See? Now neither of us has anything left", said Moth.

"Wrong again, because I still have wings", I said as I did a barrel roll, throwing him off of me. Killer Moth screamed as he began to plummet to the ground, but I forgot about him upon realizing that I could no longer see the platform anymore. "Fuck", I said as I dove into another shadow portal. Once in the Shadow Zone, I discovered I wasn't too late as the platform hadn't made contact yet, but it was getting close. "Heads up, Titans", I shouted as I flew out of the Shadow Zone via a shadow portal on the ground in the middle of the battlefield. They then all looked up and gasped at the sight of the platform plummeting towards Jump City like a meteor.

"Allow me", said Fixit as he stepped forward. He then began to glow red again as he he lifted one hand up towards the falling platform. He then brought his hand down, which resulted in dragging the platform down even faster than it was falling. This had us all worried until Fixit froze his hand directly out in front of him, which caused the platform to stop just above the prisoners, who were still trapped in the corral.

"Cutting it just a little close there, Dude", said Beast Boy.

"Where would you like me to put this, Master", asked Fixit to me.

"Well let's get these toys cleaned up first", I said as I looked around the battlefield. All the robots were in disrepair, and all of the villains were unconscious with the exception of Kitten, who was merely restrained by two pairs of bolas courtesy of Robin.

"No problem", said Raven as she lifted all the broken robots onto the platform.

"Okay, now what", asked Beast Boy.

"Now let's give them the same send-off that Chang got", I suggested.

"Not a bad idea at all", said Robin.

"As you wish", said Fixit as he then used his power to fly the platform all the way out to where the cliff used to be. I was just about to tell Fixit to dump it into the sea when Cyborg spoke out.

"Hey, Tin Man, lift up a bit higher." Fixit did as he was told as he lifted the platform higher. "Higher", said Cyborg as Fixit lifted it again. "A little more." Fixit lifted the platform yet again. "Perfect. I'll take it from here", he said as Cyborg then released seven missiles as they shot out of his body, one from his sternum, and three out of each of his shoulders. The missiles traveled all the way to the way, blowing up it and the robots upon making contact as the remains rained down into the sea.

"Awesome", commented Monica upon seeing how much of a war machine Cyborg was.

"Guess that ties up all the loose ends", said Pierce.

"I don't know", I began jokingly. "I feel we forgot something." It was around this time that Killer Moth's screams could be heard as he was getting closer and closer to the ground.

"Uh, Dude", asked Beast Boy as he pointed up.

"Hmm, what was it that we forgot", I asked again jokingly.

"Wolfman", said Robin slightly sternly.

"Alright, alright, I'll catch the bug man", I said as I reluctantly caught Killer Moth at the _very_ last minute with my aura. His face was merely an inch off of the ground when I caught him. Killer Moth was speechless and panting in fear as he was just extremely close to death.

"You can put him down now", said Robin. Upon hearing that, I decided to be a smart ass as I lifted him up a couple of feet first and then slammed him into the ground, knocking him unconscious like the others in the process. I looked back at Robin as he stared back at me in silence.

"What? He's a Grade-A dick", I said as I shrugged at him. There was then a few moments of silence, and then the silence was broken by the roar of a cheering crowd. The cheering was coming from the prisoners in the corral, who were all watching the battle the entire time. We looked over to the corral to see Lucas, who was in the middle of walking over to us as he stopped by the corral to lead the crowd in a cheer.

"Wolf-man, Wolf-man, Wolf-man, Wolf-man", he began chanting. Upon hearing his chant, little by little the crowd followed suit as they began chanting my name. I returned to my human form as I awkwardly waved at the crowd, who apparently was forgiving of my rouse as a villain.

"Take a bow, Fernando", said Pierce as he motioned his arm towards me as if he was presenting me to the public. I then put my left arm behind my back, and cradled my other arm by my stomach as I gave a brief bow. I blushed upon hearing the crowd cheer again upon seeing me bow to them.

"Way to go, Cuz", said Monica as she rushed over to hug me from behind as I lifted up from my bow. "You're a hero now, just as you've always been."

"Not only that", began Robin as he and Cyborg approached us, "he's also a Teen Titan", he continued as a compartment opened up from Cyborg's torso. Inside the compartment were three communicators. "In fact, you all are", said Robin as he handed one to Monica, and Pierce. "As far as I'm concerned, you are all Honorary Titans, including you, Wolfman", he said as he handed me my new communicator. "Welcome back", he said as he offered me his hand. I responded by Changing my hand into a paw and grasping it.

"Good to be back."

"So, you're real name's Fernando", asked a grinning Beast Boy with a raised eyebrow, as if to indicate he was going to make fun of my name in the near future.

"What's _his_ name", I asked Raven, who had just walked to my side, as I pointed at Beast Boy.

"Garfield."

"Yeah, I'll shut up now", said Beast Boy upon seeing me grin when I learned _his_ real name. We all laughed at the silliness of the conversation.

"Welp, I guess we'd better start cleaning this place up", I said as I looked at Raven out the corner of my eye. Just standing near her again was enough to get my heart racing out of control.

"Guess so", added Cyborg. We then all instinctively looked to Robin, as he looked back at us with a grin on his face, as if proud to be a part of such an awesome team of individuals. I know I was. Starfire then floated over to Robin and leaned against his shoulder as she grabbed his arm. He responded by reaching over and putting his hand on her hand as he leaned back into her.

As Robin and Starfire were having their little intimate moment, I looked back over at Raven, who was watching the loving couple with a small grin on her face. Upon watching her smile, I was reminded of how Raven took a knife to the torso to save me, and how she still saw the good in me, even when I was pretending to be a villain. I may have known Raven for a short time at that point, but she was proving to be the best friend a guy could ask for. It also didn't hurt that I was head-over-heels for her, or that she was drop-dead gorgeous.

 _Thanks for not giving up on me_ , I said to her telepathically as I surrounded her in my aura, similar to how she had done so multiple times before whenever she was comforting or petting me. Raven closed her eyes for a moment and sighed as if to indicate that my aura was relaxing to her before responding.

 _You're welcome_ , she said as she looked back at me and smiled. We then looked back at Starfire and Robin, as they were just finishing up their moment as Starfire kissed Robin's cheek. Robin then looked back at the rest of us as he gave us our new orders.

"Titans, let's go", said Robin as he turned and headed towards the corral to free the crowd. The rest of us gladly followed behind him without question.


	9. The Puppet Master

It took some doing, but after about a good forty to forty-five minutes of heavy-lifting and reconstruction, mostly due to Cyborg's engineering skills, we managed to rebuild the catwalk so that the fashion show could continue. The only thing I found more surprising than how easily we managed to repair everything, was the fact that every one of the patrons that had attended the show stayed for the entire rebuilding process as they patiently waited for the show to continue as scheduled.

"And that oughtta do it. Good work, Team", said Robin as Cyborg secured that last of the rafters in place. Once Cyborg gave me a thumbs up to indicate that the rafter was secure, I released it from my aura and floated back to the ground to rejoin the others.

"So what happens now", asked Monica.

"Now, you go back to working the runway", I said to my cousin as I playfully pushed her towards the catwalk.

"And you", asked Lucas, now joining us.

"We're going to have to borrow the Wolfman for a bit", said Cyborg.

"You aren't going to stay for the show", asked Monica.

"I've got a few loose ends to tie up first, but I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Good, because you owe us lunch", joked Pierce as he snuck up behind me and playfully began choking me from behind.

"Okay, okay, I get the point", I chuckled as I shoved him off of me. "The burgers are on me."

"No arguments here", said Lucas.

"Okay, now that that's settled….", began Cyborg as the rest of the Titans began to gather around Robin for new orders.

"We need to find out more about the allegiance Killer Moth made with Mad Mod", said Robin.

"Speaking of, who's turn is it for garbage detail", asked Beast Boy as he pointed over to the pile of mostly unconscious villains, now restrained with rope supplied from backstage of the catwalk. Kitten, still the only villain that was still conscious screamed through the duct tape over her mouth, most likely offended by Beast Boy's garbage remark.

"I believe it was Cyborg's turn", said Starfire.

"Now wait a minute, I thought we were going to find Killer Moth's base first", said Cyborg as he tried getting out of the task of lugging the bad guys to jail. "Why doesn't Starfire do it? She can fly there and meet up with us later. Or Raven could do it?"

"Don't even think about it", said Raven.

"Sorry Cyborg, but I'm going to need the others for this mission", said Robin. "Besides, the girls did it last time."

"Fine", groaned a defeated Cyborg. "What's the plan?"

"While you take Moth and the others to jail, Starfire and I will check out his base. You can lead us there, can't you", asked Robin to Fixit.

"I can", replied Fixit.

"The rest of you look into what happened with Chang", continued Robin as he looked over towards me, Raven, and Beast Boy.

"We'll meet up with you guys later", added Beast Boy.

"Nightmare, Grinder, Lola, go with Cyborg. Jiant, and Killer, go with Fixit." Upon hearing my orders Lola scoops up Cyborg and tosses him onto her back.

"Whoa, put me down, put me down", said a somewhat panicky Cyborg as Lola flew into the air.

"Relax, Cy", I reassured him. "Where Robin's going you can't take the T-Car with you anyway. Besides now you'll be done with your trip three times as fast."

"Well forgive me if I'm a bit paranoid. The last time I got this close to one of these things I lost a leg", said Cyborg as he glared down at Starfire.

"If memory correctly serves me, Silkie gave it back eventually", she added.

"Silkie", I asked as I looked over at Raven.

"Beast Boy snuck home one of Killer Moth's worms one day and its been living with us ever since", said Raven.

"That would explain a lot", I responded sarcastically as I remembered the pain of Silkie's teeth digging into my tail.

"Okay, okay, y'all gotta move it if you plan on making it back in time", began Pierce. "The sooner you leave, the sooner you get back."

"He's right", began Robin, "let's get going", he continued as he climbed onto Killer's back. Killer looked at me for a moment, puzzled by Robin's bold move. I nodded to him for reassurance. Jiant then grabbed Fixit as he and Killer took to the air and flew towards the city border leading to the forest where Killer Moth's base was hidden, with Starfire flying right behind them.

"Onward, Lolo", said Cyborg dramatically as he pointed ahead of him. Lola turned back to him and hissed upon him saying her name wrong.

"Lo _la_ ", I corrected him.

"Whatever", said Cyborg just before Lola took off like a bat out of Hell as she flew away as fast she could, probably to get back at Cyborg. Nightmare and Grinder flew after them with Killer Moth, Kitten, Fang, and Mad Mod in their grasp.

"He'll be fine", said Beast Boy jokingly as we stood there for a moment wondering how long Cyborg would last with the moths by himself. "Race you guys to the cliff", said Beast Boy just before morphing into a pteranodon. Before he could take off I Changed into Gizamon and pounced onto the dinosaur's back, pushing him into the ground as I did so. I then leaped off of him as I took to the sky and flew away.

"And Wolfman takes the lead", I said jokingly as Raven followed behind me, chuckling at Beast Boy with his face in the dirt.

"Hey! That was a cheap shot", shouted Beast Boy who took a brief moment to return to his human form before flying after us.

It only took us a few minutes to fly out of Jump City towards the seaside cliff. Once there, we landed on the cliff to find that there was a large pile of rubble and boulders near the edge, the result of part of the cliff being torn off and dropped into the sea below. Beast Boy immediately sprung into action as he morphed into a blood hound and began sniffing the area out. I don't know if Raven caught it or not, but I noticed Beast Boy's tail twitch upwards for a brief moment as it looked like he picked up a scent. Curious as to what scent he was reacting to, I also began sniffing the ground along with him.

"Any luck, you two", asked Raven who was standing on the sidelines at this point. I lifted my head up for a moment to report my findings to her since Beast Boy was unable to speak in his animal form.

"I've got two scents. Someone else was up here earlier."

"Anyone you recognize?"

"Well the first scent smells kinda familiar, like rot and decay for some reason."

"Lovely", said Raven sarcastically.

"The other one smells like somebody just got out of a mud bath", I continued. My report stopped upon hearing the sound of rock being shifted. I then turned to see Beast Boy attempting to dig under the pile of rock and debris near the edge of the cliff. "Beast Boy, watch it", I shouted as I ran over to him. Once I was close enough to him, I grabbed him by the back of his neck with my teeth and threw him backwards. It was at that moment a few of the rocks gave in and tumbled off the cliff into the sea. Despite that however, Beast Boy trotted right back over to the rock pile again.

"Didn't you learn anything", asked Raven. Beast Boy returns back to him human form as he remained crouched down near the rock pile.

"Well how else am I supposed to move all of these rocks?" It was then that my nose caught a new scent.

"He's right", I said as I began sniffing my way over towards Beast Boy and the rock pile. I could smell air escaping from underneath the rock pile, with the slightest hint of the smell of metal. "Something's under there."

"Told ya", gloated Beast Boy as he reached forward to try and move another rock.

"Hang on a second, Beast Boy", I began as I moved his hand away, "Raven had a point, too. If we keep moving rocks like this, the entire cliff will eventually give out."

"Well then how am I supposed to get under there?"

"You do realize there's three of us, don't you", asked Raven.

"Uh, yeah, right. I knew that", said Beast Boy awkwardly as if he was trying to cover up something. I ignored it for the moment as I deemed it not important at the time.

"Anyway", I began, "you don't have to worry about finding a way underneath, because I'm going instead", I continued as my eyes began to glow purple as I activated my x-ray vision to look into the ground underneath us beyond the pile of rubble.

"How come you get to go", asked Beast Boy.

"Because I can see where the air is coming from. There's a room down there. I can get inside without having to move any of the rocks."

"Then take me with you then."

"What's up with you, Beast Boy?"

"You seem a little more hyper than usual", added Raven.

"Oh, uh, nothing", chuckled Beast Boy awkwardly, again, like he was keeping something from us.

"No, I think I'll go in alone. Why don't you check to see if there's an underwater entrance", I said as I pointed over the edge of the cliff. "I assume you've got gills, right?"

"Wait, so now _we_ are splitting up", asked Beast Boy.

"Relax", began Raven. "If anything happens to either of you I'm right here", she said as she crossed her legs Indian-style and began floating in place. "Besides it'll make it that much quicker to get this search over with."

"Speaking of, what're _you_ gonna do?"

"I think I know", I began. "You can sense other presences, can't you", I asked Raven.

"If they're nearby", she responded as she closed her eyes and began meditating.

"Guess that's our cue", I said as I turned back to Beast Boy. "Happy hunting." Beast Boy then salutes me as if I was his commanding officer and then dives over the edge towards the water below. A few moments after his splash, he jumps out of the water as a green dolphin, squeaking to indicate that he was okay before diving back in to conduct his search. "My turn now", I said to myself as I opened a portal to the Shadow Zone and dove in.

I emerged from the portal, returning to my regular wolf form as I did so, into an extremely lit room with metal walls. After a brief look around, I noticed that there were various degrees of rock and debris protruding through the metal walls. I also noticed that the few sources of light were coming from loose electrical wires and ceiling lamps, all of which were sparking and flickering due to the damage.

"I guess this place has seen better days", I said to myself sarcastically before continuing to the end of the room. Once there, I noticed two metal doors, which based on the fact that there were no handles or knobs, told me that they were automatic doors. And since power seemed to be faulty at the moment, I had to use another method to get by them. "I could open another portal", I began to myself as I took a few paces backwards, "nah", I continued just before I broke into a sprint. I then leaned in with my right shoulder as I performed a "Take Down" attack on the metal doors. As expected, they I knocked them over as easily as a knife cuts through butter. "Boo-yah", I said to myself with a grin upon landing. "Nah, scrap it, that was stupid", I muttered in reference to the fact that Cyborg's catchphrase sounded weird when I said it.

I immediately noticed that the new room I entered was very well lit as it apparently was still intact, which told me that I was currently _deep_ inside the rock of the cliff. A sneeze forced its way out of my sensitive nose in response to the fact that the air inside the room wreaked of chemical cocktails. The lab consisted of mostly metal countertops, each on with massive amounts of beakers, jars, and test tubes filled with so many various and strange chemicals that the only one I was able to recognize was xenothium, and that was only due to the fact that I remembered the smell from back at Killer Moth's lair.

 _Xenothium must be on high demand on the black market_ , I thought to myself as I walked around the countertops towards the other end of the laboratory. I paused for a moment upon noticing a particular beaker with a green chemical in it. Again, I couldn't recognize the beaker's contents, but the scent it gave off smelled oddly familiar. I then rose to my hind paws for a closer look. "Why do you smell like you've got teeth and claws", I asked aloud as if conversing with the beaker itself. Though it was a strangely-worded question, I did mean what I said. The chemical in the beaker, somehow smelled like an animal. To be more specific, it smelled canine, with a small hint of primate in it, which was crazy considering the mystery substance was neither animate or solid. Before I could look deeper into it, my attention was drawn away by the sound of what sounded like a generator.

It was then that deeper into the lab a green light appeared. Unsure what or possibly who the light was coming from, I lowered myself to the ground and began slowly stalking forward, quietly sniffing the air as I did so. Eventually I rounded a corner to find that the light was coming from two, for lack of the proper term for them, pillar-like chambers, those sciency things you see in the movies, like the thing Mewtwo was born in, or Professor Banner's homunculus clone. Both were filled with what looked like green water, though I wasn't sure if the water-like liquid was actually green, or if there was a light inside the chambers to give it a green appearance. There were also two live subjects in each of the chambers. In the chamber on my left, there was a human. He was a white male with a skinny build, a shaved head, that had a bit of a square shape to it, and he was wearing nothing but a pair of spandex-like underwear.

To my right, was what looked like a man who was half-fish. Judging by the fact that his body was covered in gills, scales, and fins, it was clear that this mutant was amphibious. His body consisted of mostly dark green scales, with the exceptions of his hands, feet, chest, and face, which had gray scales. He had one fin in the center of his chest where his sternum was, two more on his face that acted like whiskers, and the scales on the outsides of his shoulders were plated like armor as if he were wearing shoulder pads. Inside his chamber with him was what appeared to be a trident. He and the human man across from him were unconscious and the two of them floated in their watery holding cells.

"Are you two experiments", I asked aloud as I walked over to the chamber on my left. "Or perhaps you're prisoners as well", I continued as I put one of my paws on the glass. Upon doing so, the man inside woke up, which caused me to jump as I returned to all fours and hissed a feline hiss at the man for startling me.

"I'm awake! I'm awake", exclaimed the man in a panicky tone of voice as he pounded on the glass. His panicky behavior was the only reason why I never got around to asking him how it was he was able to breath and speak while inside the chamber despite the fact that it was completely filled with a water-like liquid.

"Calm down. It's okay, I'm going to get you out", I said to him as I put my paws back on the glass in an attempt to calm him down.

"No, don't!"

"Why not?"

"You don't understand, I can never be awake! Sleeping is the only way for me to stay human!"

"What're talking about?"

"It's coming. It's coming! It's co—", he said before he started gagging. It was then that his entire body began to expand as his very skin started to turn a reddish-purple color. Upon seeing this, I began to back away slowly, towards the other chamber. I was just about to make contact with it when I heard the sound of glass breaking coming from behind me. I managed to jump to my left just in time to avoid being skewered by the fish-man's trident as he jabbed it at me like a spear. I then position myself to where I was looking directly at both chambers just as the two mutants had completely broken free from the prisons.

The fish-man, who was only an inch taller than I was on two legs, assumed a battle stance with his trident, while the man across from him, emerged from his chamber in a form that was _far_ from human. He towered over me and the fish-man at a height of twelve feet, had multiple green eyes (most of them on the top of his head, while a few others stretched to his shoulders), and he lacked a solid form as his entire body was now comprised of what appeared to be mostly sludge and waste. Not to mention the fact that he smelled terrible.

"And I thought Fang was ugly", I said sarcastically.

"Be silent, you scum", demanded the fish-man. "And cower before the face of perfection", he continued as he pointed his weapon at me.

"Okay, Dude, I'm all for mutant pride, believe me, but you're sounding _pretty_ vain considering you're completely covered in scales and smell like seawater."

"Silence", he demanded as he fired an energy blast at me through his trident.

"Whoa", I exclaimed as I dropped to my stomach to dodge the blast. In response to the fish-man's failure to land his attack, the giant Muk began barfing sludge blasts at me, complete with disgusting belching sounds with each blast. I managed to dodge the first few of them, but eventually got drenched in several others. "Blegh", I said in disgust as I now had an unpleasant taste in my mouth. "Why does this kinda shit keep happening to me", I asked as I took a moment to shake out my fur. It was then that both of my opponents rushed at me. After a few moments of me dodging their attacks, the fish-man spoke again.

"Stop squirming, Imperfect One."

"And if I don't", I challenged him. His buddy responding by firing another blast at me, which I made quick work of by using my psychic powers to hurl it at the fish-man. I assumed it was sludge like the other blasts at first, but upon it making contact with the fish-man, and his response to it as it burned his skin, I soon discovered that it was acid instead. "That looks like it hurt." The Muk monster then fired another acid blast at me, which I dodged again by leaping into the air. "Shadow Ball", I shouted as I fired a Shadow Ball at his face. Upon it making contact, his head sort of exploded as the rest of his body stood still for a moment. "Huh, that was easy", I said having believed that I defeated both of my opponents. Upon me saying that, the fish-man rose to his feet, his scales undamaged by the acid despite it burning him, and the Muk monster regenerated his head as he let out an inhuman screech. "Ugh, never mind."

"You didn't think it'd be _that_ easy, did you", asked a Darth Vader-like voice from somewhere in the room. It was then that a t.v. screen descended from the ceiling behind my enemies and tuned on. The man that appeared on the screen was dressed from head to toe in a white armor-like outfit as he sat in an empty all-white room. He also wore a white mask with whited-out eyeholes like Robin's, which combined with his suit and the room he was in, made him appear damn near invisible.

"Who the Hell are you?"

"You're quite the rude one, aren't you?" The man then snapped his fingers as three men appeared from further behind the t.v. screen. Each of them was also wearing armor-like outfits. However, what differed between them and the man I was speaking to was that two of them had black suits, and white masks with white-out eyeholes, and the third man had a white suit, and a black mask with tinted eyeholes, which like their employer, gave them the appearance of having no face. Though this was my first encounter with their employer, I recognized the masked men immediately.

"Where are my friends, you creep?"

"Straight to business, I like that. I must say, Your Majesty, your spirit is much stronger than those of the others. The bear in particular was the most pathetic, as it had the weakest will of them all." Angered by his insulting of Adryen, I let out a frustrated roar as I fired a few volts of electricity through my paws at the t.v. screen. The masked men, and two mutants shielded themselves as broken glass, and sparks sprayed from the t.v. upon it being destroyed. Despite that however, it didn't stop the masked man from speaking to me as his voice still echoed through the laboratory. "So, it appears that you were able to regain your ability to bend light, impressive. Given my associate's power suit, I was certain that you'd be deemed to weak to even use your shadow powers."

"Enough talk! Get out here and fight me! If you want me so bad, then come and get me!"

"As you wish", said the mystery voice. "Bring him to me", he said calmly. In response to this, the five opponents that stood in front of me began charging at me once again.

"For Adryen", I shouted as I leapt at my enemies, Changing into my bear form as I did so. Upon landing, I immediately began swatting away at my five opponents. The masked men, and fish-man were easily thrown around by my might paws like a bunch of bitches, but the Muk monster was another story. Physical attacks were useless against him, and whenever struck by one of my Elemental attacks, he simply regenerated. My frustration with the liquidy menace was so great that I wound up getting distracted by him, which gave the masked men the perfect opportunity to use their energy whips on me. One was wrapped around my neck, while the other two wrapped around my front legs. Upon making contact with my body, the whips immediately began sapping my energy, which resulted in my Changing back to my human form as the three men began dragging me further into the laboratory.

I was eventually dragged to a point in the lab where there was apparently a series of escape tubes that led to the sea, complete with a submarine-like escape pod, one big enough for all six of us.

"I'm driving", said the fish-man sternly as he shoved one of the masked men out of his way. Once the villains had dragged me onboard, I having lost so much energy at this point that I was struggling to keep consciousness, the fish-man began starting the launch procedures as the doors started closing behind us. The way the doors were designed, they locked in place as one door descended from the top, while the other ascended from the bottom, which kinda reminded me of a garbage truck. It was then that I got an idea.

I waited for the doors to close for a bit, and then at the last minute, I managed to dig deep enough to shoot to my feet and yank away from the masked men as hard as I could, causing all three of them to lose their grips on their whips. I then dove through the closing doors, just as they slammed completely shut on the whips themselves. My hope was that the mechanical doors would be enough to destroy the whips, freeing me from their grasp. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Not only did the whips stay intact despite the metal doors clamping down on them, but now I was in an even worse position as they whips _continued_ to drain my strength.

"Initiating launching sequence", said a computer voice as the tube the sub was in began closing off its entrance.

"What is it with me and drowning", I asked weakly as I prepared for the danger that was about to come. The computer voice then continued.

"Launching escape pod in 3, 2, 1." Upon the computer finishing the countdown, the submarine took off like a rocket, and just as I feared, dragged me along with it as the whips still had me locked in their grasp. At first my only concern was the fact the whip around my neck choking me to death as my body slammed into the walls of the escape tube, but then the tube began to fill with water as we got closer and closer to the tube's exit. Before I became completely submerged, I took as big a breath as I could and closed my eyes to shield them from the water.

By the time I noticed that the "ride" had smoothed out, I assumed that the sub had exited the escape tube, and was now dragging me out to sea. I couldn't see where we were going, I was too weak to break away or use any of my Elemental powers, and I was struggling to hold my breath as the whip's grip on my neck began tightening even further.

 _Someone help me_ , I shouted in my head in desperation, as if expecting someone to hear me. _Somebody! Anybody! Help! I can't breathe!_ I was just about to give into my lungs' discomfort and accept my fate of drowning when I noticed the feeling of the sub ascending towards the surface. As soon as emerged from the surface, my eyes shot open as I let out a huge gasp for air. My moment of relief was short-lived as I quickly noticed that I and the sub that was dragging me were still being lifted higher and higher. Something had lifted us to the surface, and was _still_ lifting us.

It was around this time I noticed that I was lying on top of something cold, kinda slimy, rubbery, and flat. By the time I realized it was a tail I was lying on, I was bracing for impact.

"Oh dear", I said to myself as the whale's tail catapulted me and the sub through the air. Once the sub had dragged me through the air as high as it could go, just before it started to plummet to the water below, I heard a familiar voice calling out, who in that moment sounded like an angel.

"Azarath Metrion, Zinthos", shouted Raven as her dark powers sliced through the energy whips, freeing me their grip as the sub and I separated. Upon crashing into the water again, I managed to muster up enough strength to borrow Lobomon's eyes in order to see through the seawater. I then turned behind me to see the submarine, continuing its path as it retreated further into the sea.

 _Yeah, you better run_ , I thought to myself as if I was in any position to act tough. I was just about to swim to the surface when I sensed a nearby presence. I turned back around to see a sight that was more than enough to get my heart racing. Several yards out in front of me, was a bull shark, and it was closing in on me. Knowing I couldn't outswim it, I sharpened my human nails into claws and braced for impact. _Come at me, Fish Breath!_ I was just about to begin charging at the shark when I noticed something familiar about it. _Dammit, Beast Boy! I almost made sushi out of you_ , I scolded the green shark in my head as he began circling around me.

 _Yeah, right. If I were just your average shark, you would've been fish food._

 _Wait, who's voice is that?_

 _Huh? Wolfman?_

 _Beast Boy?_

 _How'd you say that? How'd I say that? I thought only Pretty Boy could do that._

 _Since when were you a telepath?_

 _Dude, I don't even know what "telepath" means._

 _Ugh, it means—_ , I began before remembering that I needed air. Upon remembering I begin making a break toward the surface above. With me still weak from the energy whips, each stroke I made as I swam felt like swimming a mile.

 _Grab on_ , said Beast Boy as he swam alongside me, morphing back into a dolphin as he did so. Without question, I grabbed his dorsal fin and mounted the marine mammal's back. In response, Beast Boy took off like a jet as he sprinted towards the surface. As we got closer and closer to the surface, I clung even tighter to his fin upon realizing that he had no intention of slowing down. As expected, once we reached the surface, Beast Boy leapt high into the air, morphing into a pteranodon again as he flew us back towards the cliff to meet up with Raven. Once he had landed, I rolled off of his back, landing on my back in the process.

"That's now _three_ times this week", I said weakly as I struggled to catch my breath.

"Three times what", asked Beast Boy as he leaned over me.

"You okay", asked Raven as she also leaned over me.

"I've been better", I groaned as I sat up. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem", said Raven with a grin.

"He-llo! Remember me? Beast Boy? I was there, too you know!"

"Fine, then. Thank you, Beast Boy….", I began.

"That's more like it", he muttered.

"….for tossing me like a ball and giving me a heart attack", I continued as I rose to my feet.

"That's so totally not what I meant", complained Beast Boy with his EAC face.

"I was only kidding, Cry Baby. Didn't think you'd wig out like that. I know you helped save me as well."

"You're darn right I did. I'm more adaptable and more equipped for underwater combat", boasted a still slightly ticked off Beast Boy.

"You forgot to mention "more modest"", said Raven sarcastically.

"Yeah, and that, too", added Beast Boy. Raven and I laughed in response as we were certain that Beast Boy either didn't know the meaning of the word "modest" or couldn't tell Raven was being sarcastic. It was then that Raven's communicator began ringing.

"This is Raven", she said as she answered it.

"Robin, here", began Robin on the other end as he appeared on the tiny screen of the communicator, "progress report." Beast and I leaned over Raven's shoulders to chime into the conversation.

"There's not much to report. The boys found some kind of room inside of the cliff, and there's evidence that someone else was here besides Chang, but they couldn't identify who, and I haven't been able to make any psychic contact either.

"What exactly was in this room you found?" I was about to chime in and answer him, but Beast Boy beat me to it.

"A Grade-A butt-kicking. Wolfman was being dragged by a submarine, that is until I stepped in and saved him." In response to his remarks I shoved him away from the conversation.

"What's he mean, Wolfman? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Robin, though I'm thinking I ran into a few more of your city's villains."

"Great", said Raven sarcastically.

"Which ones", asked Robin.

"There was a 74-inch fish-man with a trident, and a twelve-foot pile of sludge that somehow gained consciousness. Ring any bells?"

"Trident and Plasmus", asked Beast Boy. "No wonder you got your butt kicked." I growled at him in response.

"That doesn't make any sense", began Raven, those two can breath underwater. Why would they need a submarine?"

"We can ponder that when you get here", said Robin. "Cyborg's already reported back, so you three make your way here as well."

"Copy that", said Raven.

"Tell 'em about the moths", called Cyborg from somewhere offscreen.

"What about the moths", I asked in suspicion. Robin then looks away from his communicator to receive more information from Cyborg.

"Cyborg wanted me to tell you that only two of the moths came back with him."

"What? What happened to the third?"

"Uh, Cyborg", asked Robin as he looked away again.

"It flew away", he replied.

"Which one?"

"Uh, Dudes", began Beast Boy, "what's the green one's name again", he asked as he pointed out towards the city. It was at that moment that the missing moth could be seen flying towards us.

"Found her", I said.

"We're on our way", chimed Raven.

"Okay, over and out", said Robin before hanging up. It was then that Lola came in for a landing as she rushed up to greet me.

"Hey, Girl. How you doing", I asked the large insect as I cradled her head as I petted her. Lola responded to this by fluttering her wings.

"I'm thinking someone has a crush", teased Beast Boy. I then heard Beast Boy yelp as it sounded like he was being tossed back a few feet. I didn't see any of it as my attention was focussed on Lola at the moment. "I meant the moth", he groaned as he sat up after landing on his back.

 _Wait, what_ , I thought to myself as I looked up at Raven upon hearing Beast Boy's remark. She had a stern, yet nervous look on her face as she began blushing slightly.

"Can we just go now", she asked impatiently. Without waiting for a response from either of us, Raven takes to the air and begins flying away.

"Uh….", I began as I didn't know what to say at that moment.

"You up for a rematch, Lover Boy", asked Beast Boy with a nudge in reference to me racing him to the cliff earlier. He then morphs back into a pteranodon and flies after Raven.

"Hey, hold on a second", I called to him as I mounted Lola's back. I then gently kicked her sides like a rider would do to a horse, urging her to take flight. "You guys don't even know the way", I called to them as Lola flew after the others.


	10. Regroup

With the four of us flying as fast as we were, it only took us about nearly fifteen minutes to reach the meadow in the forest. As we hovered above the meadow below us, I was about to suggest that we landed and walked through the tunnel entrance, but the ground opened up again just like it did when Killer Moth unleashed his robot legion a couple of hours ago. This was probably due to Fixit taking into account that Lola was with us at the time.

"I assume you know the way", I asked Lola as I patted her head. The female moth responded with a tiny hiss as she began descending into the open hole in the ground. "This way, Guys", I called back to Raven and Beast Boy, urging them to follow me. Once we were inside and the floor/ceiling closed above us, Lola then led us through a series of tunnels, just big enough for the moths to fly through one at a time, that eventually led us back to the large, white room where I first met the Big Five. Once there, Lola and I were immediately greeted by her four brothers. "Okay, okay, I missed you guys, too", I chuckled as a few of the moths playfully nipped at my clothes, despite me being on Lola's back.

"Sweet", said Beast Boy as he morphed back into his human form in midair, landing on Nightmare's back as he did so. "You think I can try driving?"

"Wait, Beast Boy, not Nightmare. He's got a bit of a—", I began before being interrupted by Beast Boy's panicky shriek as Nightmare took off like a jet. "—temper", I said finishing my thought as I watched Nightmare try to throw Beast Boy off of his back. I was just about to send Lola over to calm him down, but Raven beat me to it as she does a one-handed whistle, which immediately grabs Nightmare's attention as he comes to a completely halt that was so sharp that Beast Boy was thrown off of his back. He didn't waste any time in morphing into a hawk and flying away. Raven then comforts the disgruntled moth by petting him via aura. "Raven, you're a natural", I said to her with some friendly applause as Nightmare flew over to her. Raven began blushing as she began to awkwardly pet Nightmare, who was instantly smitten with her at this point.

"Great", said Raven sarcastically as Nightmare then began rubbing up against her. "Now how do I get him to stop." I chuckled upon hearing her monotoned answer as she tried to gently push the giant bug away from her. Her moment with Nightmare was interrupted upon the ceiling opening up.

"'Bout time y'all got here", said Cyborg as he leaned his head upside down through the opening. "Now get 'ya butts up here, Robin found Killer Moth's control center", he continued before pulling his head back out. The three of us then left the moths and flew out after Cyborg as he then led us back to the control room where Moth and Mod had first introduced me to Chang.

"Well, this is in no way suspicious", said Raven sarcastically as she looked around the room upon us entering.

"Wonder how long this has been going on", commented Beast Boy.

"Who knows", began Robin as he was surfing through files and documents on one of Killer Moth's computers. Starfire and Fixit stood by his sides as he worked.

"Judging from how big the base is, and how big his collection of robots was, I'd say he's been down here at least a year or two", I said.

"Well the timing fits", said Cyborg as he looked over at Beast Boy.

"What about the timing", I asked.

"This isn't the first time that Jump City's villains formed an alliance with one another."

"Yeah, the last time they got together they turned Paris upside down", added Beast Boy.

"How long ago was that?"

"About two years ago", said Raven. "The breakouts came some time after that."

"What do you mean?"

"Last time", began Robin, "the villains were all under the employ of the Brotherhood of Evil."

"More bad guys", whispered Beast Boy to me in a joking manner, as if to imply that I was about to ask who the Brotherhood of Evil were. I let it slide because truthfully I was. Also because Robin continued despite Beast Boy's slight interruption.

"They assembled every villain we ever went up against, recruited them, and they all ambushed us."

"Technically no, they didn't", began Beast Boy. "Doctor Light wasn't there, or Blackfire, or Red X, or that tofu guy that Cyborg ate…."

"Wait, what", I asked in reference to the last villain he mentioned.

"Man, was that a weird day", mumbled Raven.

"Whatever, Man", said Cyborg as he cut us off. "So maybe not _every_ villain, but they did recruit damn near all of them. Their little alliance almost accomplished a global cleansing of the Titans."

"Wait, so there's more?"

"Have you not been listening", asked an irritated Starfire. "There are many more villains from which we have defended our city from."

"I knew _that_ , Star. Considering how long you all seem to have been in this "hero business", I am more than certain that the Teen Titans are enemies to more than a mere fifteen villains. I was referring to there being more Titans. Am I correct in assuming that me and Terra aren't the _only_ heroes you've recruited to your team", I asked Robin.

"How does he know about Terra", asked Beast Boy before Cyborg placed his hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"That's correct", said Robin. "The Titans have allies stretched across the globe, much like you and the Elementals." I was just about to ask him how he knew about the Elementals being spread out across the globe, as Raven was the only one of the Titans I told about that at that point, but Raven jumped in with a question of her own.

"Who's number fifteen?"

"What do you mean", I asked her.

"You said you assumed there were more than fifteen villains, but by my count, you've only had encounters with fourteen."

"Let's see", said Cyborg as he began counting them off. "Doctor Light brought you here, then Rancid jumped you…."

"The H.I.V.E. Five make seven", added Robin.

"We defeated an additional four villains at the Hall of the City", added Starfire.

"Five if you include Chang", added Raven.

"So that's twelve", said Cyborg.

"And then Plasmus and Trident kicked Wolfman's butt", said Beast Boy.

"Thank you, Beast Boy. I'm aware", I said to him irritated.

"Raven's right, that _is_ only fourteen villains", said Robin.

"Who are we missing", asked Cyborg.

"Or whom is the Wolfman leaving out", added Starfire as if to imply I was withholding secrets. In response to this, the Titans all turned to me for my answer, a few of them looking suspiciously at me.

"I don't know his name, nor have I seen his face, I just know he exists."

"And why is that", asked Robin.

"Because, he was the one who ordered my capture, as he did with the other Elementals."

"Wait, he was", asked Cyborg.

"Then let's go get him", added Beast Boy.

"He's long gone by now, BB. And with me having no idea who he is or what he looks like, I'm not sure that _we_ can find _him_."

"So, this guy _also_ wears a mask", asked Raven in reference to the fact that she knew Adryen's captors were masked men. I simply nodded in response.

"Was this mask half-orange and half-black", asked Cyborg.

"Nah, it wasn't Slade. These guys have black and white masks, and the guy in charge has an all-white mask."

"Sounds like Slade's looking a little paler these days", chuckled Beast Boy. The rest of us all kinda looked at him. "What? He could've gotten a paint job", he added as he was positive that it was Slade who was after me.

"I am afraid that I have to disagree", said Fixit.

"How come", asked Beast Boy as we all turned our attention to the monotoned cyborg.

"Because my former master's master was never one called "Slade". This man in white that Master Wolf speaks of is one that Killer Moth referred to as "DS"".

"DS"", I asked him.

"What might that refer to", asked Starfire.

"Devil Skeletons", suggested Beast Boy. Upon him giving a stupid answer, the rest of us continued to converse, initially ignoring him.

"I'm not sure, but we've got to figure that out", said Robin.

"Disco Snakes", continued Beast Boy.

"How're we supposed to do that", asked Cyborg. "Our only clue so far is that the villains seem to be organizing again. Too bad we don't know how many or which ones", he added sarcastically.

"Dino Soldiers", said Beast Boy.

"So what, we just sit back and twiddle our thumbs while we wait for the _next_ villain", asked Raven in an equally sarcastic tone.

"Demonic Scorpions", said Beast Boy.

"I fail to see what else we can do at the moment", said Starfire.

"Dragonic Squirrels", said Beast Boy.

"Wait a sec, what about the other Elementals", asked Cyborg. "Can't they help us? Or maybe one of your other animal friends?"

"Diver Squad", said Beast Boy.

"I am not about to willingly send my Horde into a war against an enemy we know nothing about", I said. "Besides, what about the other Titans?"

"So you rather us sacrifice out friends instead of your own", asked an accusatory Starfire.

"Silver Diamonds. Oh wait", said Beast Boy to himself.

"Oh don't give me that", I began getting a little irritated.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down, you two", said Robin as he stepped in front of Starfire as she tried to push her way around him. I responded to this in a similar manner as Cyborg stepped in front of me to keep me from charging at her. This ended up starting a commotion as Starfire and I began arguing and yelling at one another, while Robin, Cyborg, and Raven tried yelling over us to calm us down.

"Derpy Scientist", asked Beast Boy.

"Shut up, Beast Boy", we all shouted to him as we took a moment to pause the chaos as we were too irritated to ignore him anymore.

"What? I don't hear anyone else coming up with any ideas."

"If I may make a suggestion, Master", asked Fixit to me. Upon hearing his monotoned voice, I calmed down enough for Cyborg to trust me to handle myself as he stepped away from me.

"What is it, Fixit?"

"Perhaps it would be best to put this issue to rest for a moment. Databases indicate that the Jump City Police Department has new information to share with the public in the next five minutes."

"He might be right, y'all", said Cyborg as he looked at a screen on his arm. "T.v. guide says that the news station will be recording another conference meeting in five minutes."

"Then let's head back to the other room", suggested Robin as the Titans began walking towards the doorway. Fixit and I hung back for a brief moment before following behind them.

""Master Wolf"", I asked him in response to the name he used to reference me a moment ago.

"I felt it had a better ring to it when compared to "Master Wolfman"".

"Like I said, you don't have to keep calling me "Master", Fixit."

"I am aware, Master", he said with a slightly mocking bow and a tiny grin before continuing on ahead to catch up with the others.

I followed him and the others back to the living room where the large t.v. was. Cyborg, being the first one to enter the room, already had the t.v. turned on the correct channel by the time I got there. Upon noticing Cyborg, Robin, and the girls were all taking up space on the couch, Beast Boy and I Changed into wolves again as we trotted around the others and sat at their feet up front.

"Pffft, commercials", grumbled Cyborg with his resting on his hand in annoyance as the supposed five-minute wait turned into fifteen minutes as we still had to sit through ten minutes of meaningless commercials before the conference even began.

"Who puts five sandwich commercials before a press conference", asked Robin.

"Shhh! It's starting", I said in excitement as I was anxious to hear what the police had to say. With everything that went on within the past 48 hours, I wasn't certain where I stood with the people of Jump City.

Before the conference started, we were shown a newscast from the newswoman from before. She opened up by talking briefly about the incident that occurred at City Hall and the arrival of a mysterious werewolf (me). She then cut away to another reporter who was interviewing random citizens in the streets, most of which witnessed or wound up in the incident, about their opinions about me.

"It's not safe, I'm going to go ahead and say it. I do not feel safe with him here", said a woman who looked to be in her mid-30s.

"Why is he here? Why is he doing what he is doing? I shouldn't have to live in fear of this monster creeping around at night. I've got kids, I shouldn't have to expose them to this", said another woman as she held her toddler in her arms.

"When a dog goes rabid, you kill it. When a dog bites or attacks somebody, you kill it. When a _wild_ dog shows up, you kill that son-of-a-bitch on sight. So why then, are we allowing this murderer to roam free right now? What's there to even debate? He's a rabid dog who is has been confirmed as both a killer and even more dangerous than that spider-thing that attacked us", said a large, country man with a heavy accent who looked to be in his 50s.

"A werewolf? With psychic powers? Give me a break", said a non-believing, old man with white hair, a balding head, and thick sunglasses as he waved off the reporters question as stupid before returning to his game of checkers with the gentleman that sat across from him.

"You sorry meat sacks", I mumbled to myself with a growl in my chest.

"Are people always this rude with you", asked Beast Boy as he morphed back to his human form.

"Actually this is the nicest bunch of humans I've revealed myself to in a while. Remind me to send them all "thank you" notes", I said sarcastically.

"I'm thinking that won't be necessary", said Raven just before the newswoman cut away again to more interviews.

"It was so cool", began an excited middle school-aged boy who was accompanied by his two friends. "This robot was like, "pow pow pow", and then he flies in like "ROAR"", continued the boy as he pounded on his chest like a gorilla. I assume the boy went on and on for a long while as the camera cut him off mid-sentence as it cut away to another interview.

"He saved us. I don't care what they say, he saved us. If he is just a mindless killer, then why would he waste his time on us", asked a 30-something-year-old man with his wife and two daughters.

"We're not talking about a guy who claims that he would take a bullet for us, he actually has already. I mean, I'm sure there will be complaints down the road that he'll have to answer to, like all of the damage he did to the cars, and that street lamp he ripped out, not to mention those three boys he killed, but uh, yeah, he seems to be okay with me. His methods are a little unorthodox for my taste, but, they're effective", said one of the police officers who car got smashed by Nightmare. The camera then cuts to another man, who they were polite enough to give a caption to, most likely due to his connection with me as it read: "Pierce Howard: Friend of the Werewolf".

"Jump City just doesn't know him the way me and Monica do. I've seen this guy jump in front of trains, chase down _real_ murderers, he actually the reason why I'm standing here today. He's saved my butt more times than I can count, and he never asks for much in return, if at all. He is always looking out for other people, that's what he does, and he's pretty good at it. So even if he did kill those three guys that night like everyone says he did, I'd bet my favorite suit that there was a good reason for it."

"Thanks, Pierce", I said to myself upon hearing his kind words.

"How do you know him, Wolfman", asked Cyborg.

"He went to high school with me and my cousin."

"Who, the eagle", asked Beast Boy.

"Yes, Beast Boy, the eagle is my cousin."

"So, how does that work exactly?" Before I could even consider asking his question, the camera finally cut back to City Hall for the press conference.

"People of Jump City", began the Police Chief once he reached the podium, "as you are aware, there is a werewolf among us. We don't know who he is, we don't know what he wants."

"I'm not an alien, you jackass", I said aloud.

"Hey", said an offended Starfire behind me.

"Easy", said Robin to quiet us down. The Chief continued.

"What we do know for certain is that he was indeed involved in the deaths of Mackenzie Daniels, Jonathan Stevens, and Joseph Briar. However, we also know that as of today, he has been recruited as a Teen Titan, and that due to his heroic actions, hundreds of innocent lives were spared today from a madman's terrorist attack on our city, including our very own mayor. Therefore, we offer this werewolf known as Wolfman a proposition. In light of recent events, and the discovery of new evidence, we will no longer press charges for his arrest on the account of murder. In exchange, the Wolfman is hereby ordered to report to the police station in one hour. If he does not comply, the warrant for your arrest will continue as before." Without another word, the Police Chief stepped away from the podium just as the camera cut back to the newswoman.

"Guess it's a good thing we turned on the t.v.", said Raven sarcastically.

"I'll say", began Cyborg. "With the window of compliance being only one hour, if we had missed this, Wolfman would be the most wanted man in the city."

"Where are you going, Dude", asked Beast Boy upon noticing that I had Changed back to my human form, rose to my feet, and began walking towards the door from which we entered a moment ago.

"I'm going to go check on my swarm, make sure they're taken care of. After that, we'll head to the station."

" _Your_ swarm", asked a suspicious Starfire. Robin quickly interrupted with a question of his own before I had the opportunity to react.

"You going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine. This is nothing new for me. They just want to talk. They'll ask me a bunch of demeaning and arrogant questions about my mutation and whatnot, they'll make me promise not to kill again, possibly give me a slap on the wrist, and then I'll be on my way."

"If that is the case, then why do you require us", asked Starfire. I turned back to her and the others before answering.

"I don't, but I figured you all may have questions as well. Anything they have to say to me, they can say in front of you guys."

"You sure", asked Cyborg.

"You don't owe us any explanation", said Raven.

"Perhaps, but it's the least I can do. I'll be back to head to the station in a few minutes. You all are more than welcome to join me." I then turned to Fixit. "Shall we?" Fixit simply nodded in response before following me out of the room and into the hall. The two of us walked in silence all the way to the room where the moths were.

"May I ask what troubles you, Master?" I chuckled a moment before responding having accepted the fact that there was no way to get Fixit to stop calling me "Master".

"Just thinking about a whole lot of stuff is all."

"Perhaps one of the topics that troubles you includes the assistance you were given today."

"Yeah, this DS guy is not like any villain I've ever dealt with before. Whoever he is, he seems to have knowledge of the Elementals and our abilities, and he's using it to his advantage."

"It would be concerning if that didn't trouble you, Master. However I was in actuality referring to the others."

"What "others"?"

"The two mutants that assisted the Titans today."

"Who, Monica and Pierce?"

"Forgive me for the confusion, but I was referring to the mutants who helped to defend the city from Professor Chang. The mutants who destroyed his cannon."

"Wait a sec, you saw that?"

"Though several parts of my anatomy are still organic, my eyes are inorganic, and therefore are not influenced by light or darkness."

"So you were able to see through the flash."

"That is correct."

"May I", I asked him as I pointed to my head. Fixit, having understood what I was asking him, nodded in response. With his blessing, I then used my powers to enter his mind, only this time with a twist.

Rather than having a third-person point of view in Fixit's memory as I did before, I took note about his ability to see through flashes of light. So instead, I watched his memories of previous events through his eyes. I rewound his mind all the way back to when Chang was just about to fire his cannon. I remember sucking my teeth to myself when the "camera"(Fixit's eyes/point of view) looked away from me and Raven and instead focussed on the cannon ahead of us.

There was nothing too important about watching me with Raven, I just wanted to see through another's eyes how we looked when we combined our powers. Though there was a sense of panic and alarm when Chang fired his cannon at the city, in that moment when Raven and I merged our auras to create a shield, I felt that I could take anything that was being fired at us. It was a stretch to assume that my powers alone was enough to shield an entire city from a giant cannon, but having Raven there by my side made me feel invincible. I digressed from my gushing upon seeing the cannon being fired.

Though I was watching the event through Fixit's eyes, I was still able to use my powers to slow the memory down. As I watched the cannon's blast collide with the shield Raven and I created in slow-motion, I quickly sensed a familiar presence. Through the corner's of Fixit's eyes, I noticed that way up on the cliff where the cannon stood, there was somebody climbing to the top of the cannon. Due to the distance of the cliff from the city, I wasn't able to identify who it was that was climbing the cannon, that is, until he threw something at it, which triggered the red flash we saw earlier that day.

For this, I had to slow down the memory even further, as the flash had a hidden clue that we all missed, except of course for Fixit. Before the red flash became totally blinding, when it first appeared, there was an extremely brief moment in time (like 3/4 of a second) where the flash of light formed a giant letter "X".

"No way! _He_ saved us", I asked myself. Before I could think too far into my thoughts, the memory returned to its normal speed, which was when the yellow aura-like lights began shooting out of the ground under the cannon. It was also at that point that I noticed that as the lights began shooting out of the ground, that Red X was still standing on top of the cannon, though out of everyone's sight due to how he was positioned and the angle at which we looked up at the cannon. He looked just as surprised to see those yellow lights as we were, which told me that they must've been the work of the other mutant that Fixit spoke of. "Looks like there's another stranger in Jump City", I said to myself as Red X leapt off of the cannon and escaped just before it plummeted into the sea.

"Am I interrupting anything", asked Raven. Upon hearing her voice, I exit Fixit's mind to converse with her.

"Not at all, Miss Raven", said Fixit with a bow. "If you'll excuse me, Master", he continued as he turned back to me. I nodded in response, and the cyborg responded by exiting the room, closing the door behind him as he entered the hall.

""Miss Raven"", asked Raven in response to Fixit's unnecessarily formal behavior.

"I'd just go with it", I said to her with a shrug. The two of us chuckled for a moment as Raven joined me at my side as I looked down at my swarm below. The moths were zooming past the glass at high speeds as they chased each other around the room, all except for Lola and Nightmare, who were both resting on the floor.

"How did you do it?"

"How'd I do what?"

"How did you tame his moths?"

"Like with Fixit, Killer Moth saw these five as slaves or servants. The world will most likely see them as monsters or abominations."

"And you?"

"I see them similar to how a parent might look at their child. When I see these creatures, each one with their own unique personality and vibe, I see five unfortunate souls who were dealt a bad hand early in life. They are the end result of one of presumably many experiments conducted by a madman Hell-bent on power and destruction. They were born in this underground lab for the sole purpose of their ability to destroy anything they cross paths with, and the only reason they weren't molded into complete monster is because of the fact that the five of them each had four siblings to lean on. Nothing about their genetic makeup is natural, but they don't know that. For better or worse, all they know is to stick together and to follow their leader.

"Kinda like a wolf?"

"Exactly", I said to her with a grin. I couldn't help but smile at her response. Due to my illusion of being under the employ of Killer Moth, if asked how I came about taming the moths, I was prepared to explain how I did so without the use of any wolf analogies. In the case of Killer Moth, it was mostly because I wanted to appear like a lone, rogue wolf without a pack, which would further fuel my illusion, but with Raven, I avoided them for the sake of trying not to sound too vain. That said, the fact that she was able to make the connection without me even so much as hinting it, earned her more brownie points with me.

"Well based on your performance today, I'd say their change of command was well worth the upgrade." The smile on my face grew even bigger upon hearing her say that. Her comment then led the two of us to stare at each other awkwardly as I once again got lost in her eyes. I knew I was staring too long when I noticed Raven break away first, which caused me to panic a little as my heart began to race. "So uh, what're their names", she asked somewhat awkwardly as she tried to move the conversation forward.

"*clears throat. Well, you've got Killer, Grinder, Jiant with a "J"", I began as I pointed to the purple, blue, and yellow moths respectively.

"Why a "J"?"

"Apparently Mad Mod thought it was important that I knew that bit of information", I said as I walked over to a button on the wall and pushed it, opening up the hole in the floor that led to the moths' room. I then walked back over to Raven, who was looking down into the hole. I then clicked my tongue, and upon hearing it, the two resting moths flew up me immediately while their three brothers continued playing. "This is my Beta, Lola", I continued as the green moth rubbed her head against me as I cradled it in my arms. "And you've already met my Gamma, Nightmare", I said as Nightmare tried giving Raven the same treatment. Just like before, Raven tried to push the excited moth away from her, though he wasn't having it.

""Gamma" means "third" right", asked Raven as she continued to push against the hyper insect. I chuckled in response as I left Lola and walked over towards them. I then let out a low, yet calm growl to calm the bug down. Upon hearing it, Nightmare ceased pushing, but he remained close by.

"Don't worry, he won't bite, will 'ya, Boy", I asked Nightmare. The moth responded with a hiss.

"That's reassuring", said Raven sarcastically.

"Come on", I said as I grabbed her wrist. After doing so, I immediately began scolding myself for once again refusing to stop grabbing at her. Upon realizing that there was no turning back at that point, I gently guided Raven's hand out in front of her, urging her to keep it frozen like that. In response to this, Nightmare calmly floated over towards Raven's hand and gently touched her palm with the top of his head. I then moved her hand with my hand as the two of us began petting Nightmare, who was hissing in delight the entire time. "See? Totally harmless", I said to Raven just before looking back at her.

"Thanks", she said softly as her eyes locked with mine. In addition, her hand had stopped moving, which meant now my hand was just awkwardly resting on top of hers, and what made the situation even worse, was that upon looking into her violet eyes, I couldn't move a muscle. The two of us remained like that, staring into each other's eyes, while awkwardly touching hands, as if the two giant moths weren't in the room with us, for about what felt like ten minutes. The awkward silence was interrupted by a certain green-skinned mutant.

"He-llo? How long does it take you two to look at giant moths", asked an impatient Beast Boy from my communicator. The two of us jumped at the sound of his voice breaking the silence, immediately pulling our hands away from each other in the process. Raven also stepped away from both me and the moths with her back turned to me as she pulled up her hood on her head.

"Calm down, Beast Boy. I'm the one with a deadline to make, not you."

"Yeah, well we're coming, too. So can we please get out of here already? Something about Killer Moth's lairs always give me the creeps."

"Alright, you green baby. We'll be right there", I said before hanging up on him.

"We should probably get going", said Raven as she made her way to the door. Waiting on the other side was Fixit, who bowed to her again as he stepped aside, allowing her to pass him into the hall.

"I promise to care for them properly, Master", said Fixit as he walked up to me and the moths. I nodded to him in response before then turning to the moths.

"You and your brothers stay on your best behavior, okay", I asked to Nightmare. The red moth nodded with a hiss before diving back into the hole where his three brothers were playing. "And you keep them all in line. Can you do that for me", I asked Lola as I grabbed the sides of her head and pulled her in close. She hissed in response as she playfully nipped at my nose. "That's my girl", I said as I cradled her head in my arms. I then kissed the top of her head as I released her. The green moth then hissed one more time before rejoining her brothers down below, with the hole in the floor closing behind her courtesy of Fixit. "And as for you, Fixit, I assume Cyborg removed whatever restraint Killer Moth gave you", I asked him in response to the fact that he seemed more powerful with his techokinesis abilities than he was when I first met him.

"You are correct in the assumption that I was being restrained. Fortunately for me, your friend was able to remove it."

"I figured there was a reason you two fell back when the fighting started. You think you'll be able to contact us from down here?"

"The circuitry that Cyborg used to create your communicators is nearly identical to my own, so I should have no difficulty."

"Good. Since a bunch of Killer Moth's toys are still down here, you think you can keep your eyes and ears open for Red X?"

"Of course. Shall I inform you of any other anomalies, like of the mutant who destroyed the cannon for instance?"

"This time you read _my_ mind", I said with a chuckle as I walked towards the door. "Oh, and one more thing, keep this conversation between us, for now."

"As you wish, Master. Good day", he said as the door closed behind me.


	11. Enlistment

With Fixit and the moths squared away the Titans and I then immediately made our way straight to the police station. I remember all the looks we got from several of the officers and detectives as we entered the building and approached the front desk. Considering that the Titans were known for defeating their city's criminals and therefore probably made regular trips to the police department long before I got there, I was very certain that the looks they were receiving at that moment were due to me.

Once we made it to the desk, the woman behind the counter called for two more officers, who they escorted us to one of their interrogation rooms towards the back of the building. As I had mentioned to the Titans earlier, this was nothing new to me. Most humans, especially law enforcement, had a hard time accepting or coming to grips with my mutation and what I was capable of, so to get a better understanding of what they were dealing with, they would often summon me to their stations and bombard me with questions ranging anywhere from curiosity about the mutant and supernatural communities, to ignorant and arrogant interrogations fueled by superstitious paranoia.

"This is getting ridiculous", said an irritated Cyborg as he continued pacing back and forth as he waited. The six of us had been waiting in the interrogation room for the Police Chief for about a good twenty minutes at that point, and the wait was starting to get to us. Even I, who was used to waiting for the expected "talk" that was coming, was a little high-strung as I found myself tracting and retracting my claws on my human hands in time with the ticking clock on the wall, as that was all that could be heard in that quiet, metal room.

"Is the wait always this long", asked Raven as she sat in the chair to the right of me at the corner of the rectangular table. I was seated in a chair at the end of the table.

"Eh, I've come to expect this kinda treatment from my first encounter with police. Werewolves don't exactly have a positive reputation among humans. Though I will say that I'm surprised that they were kind enough to get us a bigger table", I said in response to the table being big enough to seat about twenty people if the all squeezed in together. Usually the cops would have me seated at one of their smaller square tables that they interrogate their suspects at.

"Just so I am clear, we are not prisoners, correct", asked Starfire as she floated up to examine one of the cameras in one of the corners of the ceiling. Each corner had a camera, each equipped with motion and audio sensors, which was made apparent by the way the four of them independently moved and adjusted angles based on what was seen and heard in the room.

"Might as well be", grumbled Cyborg.

"Let's just try to stay calm", said Robin.

"So you've been arrested a lot", asked Beast Boy. I simply looked at him in response to his blunt question. "Uh, that came out wrong."

"No kidding", said Robin, who was leaned against a wall next to Cyborg, who was still pacing.

"Look, I didn't mean—", before I cut him off. In the middle of his sentence I turned back towards the door on the other side of the room and began growling. I could sense somebody approaching the room in the hallway, somebody supernatural. My claws dug into the table as the stranger got closer and closer, and my growl got louder and louder. Fortunately Raven, like she does, began comforting me with her aura yet again, which calmed me down just as the door opened and the stranger walked in, accompanied by the Police Chief.

"Good afternoon, my friends", said the stranger as he placed his clipboard on the table. He had a strong build considering he looked to be about 60 or so. He wore a small pair of glasses that hung on the bridge of his nose, and his face was covered in an all-white beard, to the point where he kinda looked like John Hammond.

"About time", I said.

"Forgive my tardiness, your majesty. I had to make a few calls to some guests. They will be joining us shortly."

"And just who are these "guests"", asked Robin.

"Never mind that, how do you know who I am", I asked interrupting Robin.

"My boy, you and I have known each other for what, a little over two decades now?"

"Really", I asked him in suspicion.

"Can it be that you truly don't remember me? Because I sure do remember you, Fernando Adams, son of Franklin and Mildred Adams, 21 years old, born in Oklahoma City—", he continued to rant my personal information before I interrupted him with a roar.

"Hey! Don't get snappy with us, you little brat! Nobody told you to bring your friends with you to this private meeting", said the Chief.

"Yeah, well that was before I knew you two were going to go poking around in my business. And besides, if this meeting is so private, then why are those two goons still doing waiting outside", I said as I pointed to the tinted window to my left.

"How did you—", began the Chief in disbelief.

"X-ray vision", said the stranger. "He can do that, you know. Please have your two officers give us some privacy."

"With all due respect—", he tried to reason with him before he interrupted again.

"And while you are at it, please see to it that the cameras are deactivated as well." The Police Chief just stood there for a moment awkwardly, as if in disbelief to what he was hearing. "Go on, it's quite alright."

"You heard him, Boys", said the Chief to the walkie-talkie on his shoulder. In response to his orders, the two officers outside the room began walking away down the hall, and the four cameras on the ceiling began facing downward as they began shutting down.

"Well, now that that has been settled, won't you all please have a seat", asked the stranger as he motioned to the other chairs at the table. Robin and Starfire then make their way to sit next to Raven, while Cyborg and Beast Boy sat on my left. "Ah, here they are", he continued as he turned to face the door. It wasn't until about another few seconds or so that the sounds of footsteps could be heard by the rest of us, and that was including me and my werewolf hearing. Upon noticing that his hearing was stronger than mine, and that I sensed a supernatural vibe about him, I realized that the man that accompanied the Police Chief was not entirely human, but something else altogether. However, before I could call him out on it, I got distracted by a familiar scent, which was enough to cause my tail to materialize behind me and begin wagging.

"Sorry we're late", said Liv as she and her partner opened the door and entered the room. Walking beside her and holding her hand was their daughter, who was holding a little pink ball with a picture of a few Disney princesses on it. "Say "hi", Serenity", said Liv urging her daughter to greet us. The little girl hesitated for a moment, but then waved at us with the hand that her ball was in, dropping it in the process as it bounced towards Beast Boy.

"I've got it", said Beast Boy as he got out of his chair and crouched down to pick the ball up. "Here you go", he continued as he held out the ball in front of him, urging the girl to come and take it. In response to this, Serenity ran and hid behind her mother's leg. "It's okay, I won't bite", said Beast Boy as he took a step closer. Serenity's grip on Liv's leg tightened in response. "Ow", exclaimed Beast Boy as Cyborg bonked him on the head.

"Knock it off, you're scaring her."

"Pfft, amateur", I said as I got out of my chair. "Give it here, Beast Boy", I said as I took the ball from him.

"Knock yourself out", he said in a tone as if to say "pfft, good luck". I then dropped to my hands and knees and put the ball in my mouth, which grabbed Serenity's attention as she was now looking at a grownup acting silly. I then lowered the top half of my body to the floor, slowly Changing into my wolf form as I did so. My reason for doing this was so that I could assume the playful dog position and whine so I could show her that I was harmless, but before I could even do so, she recognized me immediately.

"Doggy", she says excitedly as she bolts away from her mothers and makes her way towards me. Liv and her partner giggled in response to their daughter's cute response. Once she was close enough, the little girl wraps her arms around my face and embraces me in a hug. She then giggles as I lift my head up and down, picking her little body off of the ground as I did so. To her it was a fun ride. I eventually brought her back down to the ground to stand. I then gave her back her ball. Expecting her to take back her toy and go back to her mothers, Serenity surprises me yet again.

Instead of walking away with her toy, she throws it behind her, but then immediately begins exploring my face again. I noticed a look of confusion on her little face as she did so.

 _Hmmmm, I wonder_ , I thought to myself as I watched her. Curious as to how she would respond, I then Changed back into my human form. I don't know what I was expecting her to do upon seeing a dog turn into a human, but her reaction surprised me just the same. I'm not sure why, but for some reason, she thought my little magic trick was amusing as she giggled and playfully patted my cheek with her hand. I responded to this by Changing back into a wolf. She patted my face again, and I Changed back into a human. Our little game went on for a few minutes more before the Police Chief obnoxiously cleared his throat, ending our game. Irritated by his intrusion, I shot him a glare for a moment, but then returned to Serenity as I licked her face. I then turned her around and nudged her bottom with my nose, urging her towards her mothers. The two women then took their daughter to the other side of the table to have a seat, as I rose back onto my feet in my human form and returned to mine.

"Showoff", mumbled a slightly jealous Beast Boy.

"Okay then, for those of you who are not aware, may I introduce to you Nurse Olivia Grayson, and Mary Jane Grayson, attorney of law", said the stranger as he motioned towards the two women.

"May I ask what brings you here, Ma'am", asked Starfire.

"When I heard that the Wolfman was being charged with murder, I had to step in, for you see, I was the reason he got into that mess in the first place", said Liv.

"Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault", I said.

"What happened", asked Robin.

"You see, this family of three has had a couple of run-ins with the Wolfman over the course of the past few days. Most recently was two nights ago, when the Wolfman protected Ms. Olivia from an attack orchestrated by Mr. Mackenzie Daniels."

"And their daughter is the same little girl I told you about when we recruited him", said Cyborg to Robin. Out the corner of my eye I noticed Robin shooting me a look as if to say, "why didn't you tell us?", to which I responded with a look that said, "you know why I didn't", because the truth of the matter was that he did. The Titans, especially Robin and Starfire, were too furious with me at the time to be reasoned with, so there was no point in bringing it up to them then, if at all.

"She also informed us that although you did kill Daniels, his two accomplices were killed by him some time before that", added the Police Chief.

"Yes, that's correct", I said. "Now tell us what this is all about."

"Don't tell me what to do", retorted the Chief.

"Look, you have a problem with me or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Now hold on a minute—", began Robin.

"No, let him speak", I said, interrupting him. The Chief didn't bother waiting for further commentary as he took my invitation immediately.

"You come to our town, start causing trouble for several of our citizens, kill a few people, resisted arrest, and terrorized a public event while holding several people hostage. All of those reasons and more is more than enough reason for me to bury you under the jail right this second, but apparently I have to bend the rules for you because you're "special". And now you're sitting across from us all high and mighty because you think you're the toughest guy around since Bruce Lee, making demands and looking down at us because you think you're so much better than us because of your little powers."

"Are you done", I asked him at the end of his little rant. A look of shock appeared on the Chief's face upon realizing that I couldn't care less what he thought of me. "First of all, if you're going to guilt-trip me for criminal activity then you might want to get your facts straight. I've only killed one person since arriving here, and it was in order to save another's life. Refusing to fight the Titans is not the same thing as resisting arrest, and the whole hostage thing was in no way life-threatening for anyone at the fashion show, in fact I held them hostage for their own safety. Second of all, I'm making demands because between you summoning me here via a television broadcast, having me wait for you here for over twenty minutes, and then beating around the bush when you finally get here, so far you've done nothing but waste my time, and that's not even mentioning your clearly obvious, disrespectful prejudice towards me and my kind. And third, I'd choose my choice of words carefully if I were you, before you say something you might regret, given the fact that of the eleven people in this room, I count five non-humans."

"Wait, five", asked Beast Boy as he began counting off everyone in his head.

"He's referring to the white-bearded gentleman", said Raven.

"If he's not a human then what is he", asked Beast Boy.

"He's a banshee", I said. Due to him being among a select few humans that are immune to the effects of werewolf venom, when he was bitten, the bite transformed him into a banshee, a creature with the ability to sense and detect any and all supernatural creatures and occurrences from great distances, among other abilities. Considering that banshees are born from humans who are immune to a werewolf's bite, they are an extremely rare find, even moreso in males."

"Very good", said the stranger. "So you do remember me."

"Well _now_ I do. It took me a minute, but I remember your peculiar scent. You're Doctor Lector Von Goat, a friend of my grandfather's. As I recall, he was the one who bit you."

"Indeed I am. And as I'm sure you're aware, I was the one that brought you into this world."

"Wait, he's your father", asked Beast Boy. I heard a few of the Titans groan in response to his question.

"Not quite", I said. "He delivered me when my mother was giving birth."

"And what a birth it was", continued the doctor. "Once I realized that you were being born under a blood moon, I knew you were going to do great things."

"Yeah, yeah, enough flattery. Why am I here?"

"Despite the wishes of your parents, I have been keeping tabs on you and your friends as requested by your grandfather before he died. And I am aware of your current situation, and the battle that will come of it", he continued as he slid a tablet down to my side of the table.

"What's this", I asked him as I began turning it on. The other Titans leaned in to see for themselves.

"You used to work with an older gentleman back in Anchorage, I believe you know him as Clifford Johnson."

"The hairy labor guy?" The doctor chuckles for a moment before continuing.

"Fair enough. Anyway, he is an old friend of mine, and I have been keeping my eye on you through him for the past few months. Earlier this week, when he reported that you disappeared, he also sent me this", he said in reference to the fact that the first thing that appeared on the tablet's screen was a video. Naturally I pressed "play".

The video itself was even shorter than that of the footage of Adryen's capture, but it was just as painful to watch. Rather than show me the process of capturing one of the missing Elementals, it was moreso a glimpse of the aftermath, as the video consisted of the camera holder, who I assumed was Cliff, hiding in the brush of a nearby forest. From there, he observed a group of ten masked men, the same masked men who captured Adryen and who attacked me inside Chang's secret lab, lifting a large cargo into the back of a trailer truck. Once the men dropped the cargo and left the trailer, the camera zooms in to see the cargo up close before they closed the door. Inside the trailer, lying on his side with a net draped over him, was an unconscious white rhino with whip marks all over his hide.

"Taiyo", I growled to myself before slamming on the table in anger. I then slid the table back to the doctor, as I didn't trust myself to hold onto it any longer. "What of Asia", I asked him in reference to the fact that there has been no word of Asia's capture as of yet.

"Unfortunately, we know no more than you do about the missing princess."

"No", I roared.

"You've got to relax, Man", said Cyborg as he tried to calm me down.

"You guys don't get it", I grumbled.

"Fernando, we are here to assist you. I have told my three guests here about who and what you are."

"Oh really? And what exactly did you tell them", I asked in suspicion.

"He said something about you being a prince, and that you were one of six individuals with special gifts", said Mary Jane.

"He also told us that it was important that the six of you joined forces for some upcoming battle with some "great evil"", added Liv.

"Hmmm, so she's been in contact with you as well." The doctor nodded in response.

"Who's "she"", asked Raven. I ignored her question as I let out a large sigh.

"Listen, Olivia, Mary Jane, you two are lovely ladies, and you've a wonderful daughter. Doctor Goat, I have no initial memory of you, but I do know that my grandfather thought highly of you. And as for you, Chief, I'm sure there's somebody out there who likes you, I mean I don't, but I'm sure somebody does, which is why I can't ask any of you to help me with this."

"But Mr. Adams—", began the doctor.

"You can't do this alone", said Robin.

"We can't just sit by and watch you fight this battle without us", added Cyborg. I ignored them and continued to speak to the others.

"The Titans have no idea what they are getting themselves into by trying to assist me. Hell, I don't even know what I'm getting myself into, so I highly doubt that you all do. This isn't merely a battle with a villain, this is a war. Lives are in danger, entire futures are at risk, people will get hurt, or worse. This is my battle, and it would be unfair for me to ask you to fight in it. If you truly want to help, then continue what you two are doing", I said to the two mothers. "Continue to watch after Serenity, and I will do my best to make this world a safer place for her", I said finally as I rose to my feet. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's been a pleasure, ladies and gentlemen", I said with a bow as I began sinking into a shadow portal under my feet.

I emerged from the Shadow Zone in my wolf form at the top of City Hall. I walked over to the edge and looked down below. The fashion show had ended a little while ago, and most everyone had left the area already. Among the few that stayed were Monica, Pierce, and Lucas, who were all just hanging out on the steps. I let out a howl to grab their attention.

 _I must speak with you all privately_ , I thought to myself as the three of them looked up at me. I then Changed into my armored form as I dove off of the roof and took to the air. I then led the three of them towards the outskirts of town, towards the forest area where I first met Serenity. I flew further and further into the forest, until I found the group of trees I hid from the rain under the other night. There I waited in my human form for the others to catch up. After a few moments of waiting, Monica came in for a landing as she flew up into a nearby branch that hung so low that it was right by my head, while Pierce ran behind her with Lucas on his back.

"What's, up", asked Pierce as he struggled to catch his breath as Lucas dismounted him. The nine-foot tall bird was exhausted from running with a human rider on his back.

"Let me just get right down to it, what did Ryan tell you two?"

"He told us that three of the Elementals have been kidnapped, and that you were in a weakened state", said Monica.

"He also told us to stay on high alert, and to report any strange or noteworthy activity", added Pierce.

"Is what Monica says true", asked Lucas. "Are you a prince?"

"Yes, I am."

"How exactly does that work? Do you have a throne, or a crown, or anything?"

"It's a long story for another time. Let's just say that I have a mission, and that it's important."

"Seriously though, what's going on", asked Pierce.

"When do y'all leave Jump City?"

"We leave tomorrow morning for San Antonio", said Monica. "And then later on we make our way towards Miami, which will be our last stop for the tour."

"Good, then there will be more of you all nearby."

"Okay, hold up", began Pierce. "What the Hell is going on? You're really starting to scare me here, Man."

"I just need you all to be careful in the days to come. I don't know what will happen, but I need you two to promise me to stay safe, and as far away from the fighting as possible."

"Sorry, but we can't do that", said Monica without so much as missing a beat.

"Monica—", I began.

"Save it, Dude", began Pierce. "We know what you're going to say, and you can forget it. If you're in this fight, then we're in it, too."

"But Pierce—."

""But" nothing. We're going to help you, and that's final. Aren't you always the one telling us that there is strength in numbers? And haven't we helped you take down bad guys before back in the day?"

"This is different Pierce. This time we're not high school children defending our one territory from some local looney, this is serious. This time we're facing a whole new enemy that's working on a global scale. He's captured three Elementals on three different continents, and forced the rest of us into hiding. And besides, gone are the days when we were all in school and you all called me "Alpha". We've all gone our separate ways, most of you all I don't even regularly talk to anymore, and you all have your own lives to live. I've given you the knowledge you need to live with your new powers, but I cannot ask you to be a soldier."

"Good, because you don't have to", said Monica.

"But—".

"Look, Fernando, we understand your concern. You don't want us to get hurt and you're scared. But like it or not, you're our friend, and we're not deserting you, not when you need us the most. You've always had our backs, so it's time that we helped you for a change, so it's only fair to warn you that no matter what you say, not only will we fight with you, but we will recruit any and all members of the Horde who're also willing to fight."

"Absolutely not!"

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice", said Pierce.

"Pierce—".

"Fernando", began Monica, "you're my cousin, you're my friend, you're my family, you're my prince, and like it or not, you will always be my Alpha, so I will follow you into this battle and any other battle you face."

"I also will fight alongside you, to the bitter end", added Pierce.

"And if you get Monica, you get me, too", said Lucas. A part of me wanted to cry due to how passionately the three of them wanted to fight with me.

"Well then, if you all truly feel that strongly, then I have one request."

"What's that", asked Pierce.

"I need you to promise me something. Promise me that you will always stick together. Promise me that you will always look after our family, and that no matter what happens to me, you will honor the Elementals and continue to do what is right and look after those around you."

"What're you saying, Fernando", asked Pierce.

"Promise me", I repeated. Monica then flew down from her branch towards me. I responded to this by offering her my left arm, which she made her perch upon.

"I promise", said the three-foot eagle.

"Me, too", said Lucas as he dropped to one knee and bowed. This alone was enough to earn my respect as he was only a human. This was a lot of information to absorb at once, yet he was willing to enlist in this supposed resistance that Monica and Pierce were forming.

"And I promise, too", said Pierce as he opened up his wings and bowed as well.

"Thank you all", I said as I looked over at Monica. The eagle responded by nudging me with her head. I then began petting the side of her neck with my right thumb to thank her further.

"Robin calling Wolfman. Come in, Wolfman", said Robin from my communicator.

"What is it, Robin", I asked him as I pulled out my communicator.

"We need to talk. Meet me on the roof." Robin then hung up without another word. I growled in response to this.

"I hate when he does shit like that."

"Monica then leaves my arm and Changes back to her human form.

"Go, and we'll have to go out for burgers another time."

"You sure?"

"Of course", said Pierce as he too returned to his human form. "It's like you always say, there's strength in numbers."

"And it sounds to me like you can use all the help you can get", added Lucas. I chuckled in response to his comment.

"Goodbye for now, Cuz", said Monica as she opened her arms. I then pulled her in for another hug.

"Be safe, okay", I asked her.

"I will. Now go be a hero", she said as she released me. I then shook Pierce and Lucas' hands, Changed back into my armored form, and began my flight back to Titans Tower.

Once there, I found Robin right where he said he'd be, on the roof. He was looking out over the ocean, with his back turned to me. His cape gave him a dramatic look as it danced in the wind.

"Glad you could make it", said Robin just before turning around to speak to me. I had just come in for a landing and Changed back into my human form at the time.

"No problem. Now what's on your mind?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed pretty upset when you left, not that I blame you."

"You could say that. Just a lot on my plate at the moment."

"Well, like we keep telling you, you don't have to do it alone. Take it from me, you don't want to take this on by yourself. It will destroy you, drive you insane. You'll end up losing yourself in your rage, until nothing else matters."

"So I've heard", I said in reference to Raven vaguely mentioning that very same thing to me earlier.

"I also wanted to talk to you about Daniels."

"What about him?"

"Though I'm glad that you're a part of this team, I'd be lying if I said that you killing him still didn't bother me."

"I see."

"I need you to promise me that there won't be anymore killing as long as you're a part of this team."

"I regret to inform you, Robin, but I cannot make that promise."

"Why not?"

"I understand that killing is usually an unforgivable act, and that you like many other people have issues with it, but the fact still remains, I'm an Elemental werewolf, and though you don't realize it, that alone means that I have to be a killer in order to survive. My mission is to defend the Earth from evil, and sometimes evil can't simply be locked in a cell. Though I'm aware you don't always agree with my methods, I hope you at least understand that if and when I even consider killing someone, I am doing so as a Titan, and not as an impulsive murderer." Robin hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Alright, I'll trust you to do what is right, but I do have one more request."

"I'm listening." Robin then began walking back towards the doorway that led to the stairs and elevator, so I followed him. We walked down the stairs until we made our way back to the Ops Room. There, the other Titans (from left to right: Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire) were seated on the couch watching a movie, though Raven was also multitasking as she still was reading a book as she watched. The movie they were watching was the 2010 remake of the classic monster movie, "The Wolfman".

"I'll honor your request and trust your judgment as a Titan, in exchange, I ask that you remember that you're not alone. Your a Teen Titan, which means you're part of a team. We look after each other and we fight together as one, no matter who we have to defeat, or how impossible the challenge. You've already helped us more than once, so let us help you", he said as he offered me his hand. I responded once again by grasping it with my paw.

"Very well, Robin." The two of us then made our way to the couch to meet the others.

"Hey, Cyborg", asked Beast Boy.

"Yeah?"

"What's the difference between a werewolf and a wolfman."

"Well, based on what I've been gathering so far, I'm thinking that the difference might be in their methods of transmutation, or some other key genetic component in their genetic code. Or perhaps some other variable factor in their anatomical makeup in correlation to the Earth's global lunar cycle." Based on Beast Boy's response, it was clear that he either wasn't listening, or he got lost in Cyborg's use of large words.

"Yeah, but what is the difference between a werewolf, and a wolfman", repeated Beast Boy.

"Amateur", I said as I Changed back into my wolf form and jumped over the couch to sit by Raven's feet. ""Werewolf" or "lycanthrope", is a species, "wolfman" is a breed. Actually, as an interesting fun fact, humans have actually managed to recreate how a wolfman both looks and Changes pretty accurately in movies in recent years", I said in reference to the fact that Lawrence Talbot's wolf form looked almost exactly like a younger version of my friend Maury.

"Welcome back", said Cyborg.

"You okay", asked Raven.

"No, I'm not. But I will be", I said as I focussed my aura on Raven behind me, again, as a "thank you" for her concern. "Ever notice how people in movies are always terrible shots", I asked in reference to the fact that Talbot ran straight into a fleet of like twenty armed men, all firing at him, but not one of them managed to shoot him.

"Oh my God", said Cyborg as he watched the scene as well.

"What were they even aiming at", asked Robin as he took a seat next to Starfire.

"He was like three feet in front of you", shouted Beast Boy to the screen. I assume that the others were all focussed on the movie, because Raven then reached her left hand out and petted the back of my head and neck. Though it took every ounce of my being to keep myself from purring, I didn't want the others to hear, I had no shame in wagging my tail in response to her orgasmic fingers. It was like I said, I was going to be fine, and as long as Raven was around, it was true.


	12. Back to Anchorage

That night, much like the past several nights I've slept in Jump City, was eventful, though this time was different. Usually, I would be tossing and turning in my sleep, due to getting another visit from the woman in the white cloak. However, this time, I was wide awake, because I felt a disturbance. My heart was racing faster and faster, like it was out of control. I felt fear, I felt torment, I felt helplessness, though it wasn't my own.

"Raven", I said to myself as I lifted my head up over the couch and looked around the darkness of the Ops Room. Something was wrong with her, I could sense it. I leapt over the couch and made my way to the exit. I then banked left as I headed for her room. From outside of her door, I used my x-ray vision to look into the matter. The poor girl was having a nightmare, though she wasn't tossing and turning, or crying out. Still, I was worried for her. It felt wrong to enter her room as she slept, and I dared not enter her mind, as that was the equivalent of trying to converse with someone who was sleepwalking in this case, which is dangerous, so I simply waited outside of her room.

The last thing I remember about that night was me spending hours and hours pacing back and forth outside of her bedroom door. Some time after that, I must've blacked out, as I was woken up the next morning by Robin, bright and early as usual.

"Psst! Hey, Wolfman. Wolfman, wake up", whispered Robin as he shook my shoulder.

"Ugh, what", I groaned as I opened my eyes. I found myself still in my wolf form, but I was lying on my side, with my back leaning against Raven's door. It was then that I was thankful that Robin found me like that as opposed to Raven.

"Looks like somebody's been sleepwalking."

"Uh, sleepwalking, yeah, that's it", I lied as I went along with Robin's suggestion.

"Come on. Cyborg's waiting for us", said Robin as he rose to his feet and walked down the hall. As instructed, I followed behind him. We later met up with Cyborg downstairs in the garage by his car.

"Morning, Sleepyhead", he said as we entered the garage.

"Guess you two are morning people", I said with a yawn in reference to the two of them being full of energy so early in the morning.

"You two had better get going if you want to make it back in time", said Robin.

"Where are we going", I asked.

"Anchorage", began Cyborg. "We're swinging by your place."

"What for?"

"I have a confession to make", said Robin. "For safety reasons, Cyborg and I monitor any and all phone calls entering or leaving the tower."

"Wait so-"

"So, Robin and I know about the phone calls you made the other day during your first visit here."

"Do the others—", I began asking them.

"Don't worry, the others still don't know. If they ask where you two went, I'll tell them that you two are investigating the forest where your friend Taiyo was last seen."

"And while we're there. We can grab your belongings to bring back with us", added Cyborg. "This is your last chance to do so after all", he continued in reference to my mother's threat of trashing all of my stuff.

"Thank you."

"No sweat", said Cyborg as he opened his car door. "Hop in." I responded by trotting over to the passenger seat and Changing back to my human form before getting into the car.

"Safe travels, you two", said Robin as he headed back into the tower.

"Alright, ready to go", asked Cyborg.

"Uh, sure, but quick question, we're not driving all the way to Anchorage are we?"

"Of course not", he said as he opened the garage door. "We're flying. I have to test the upgrades I made to the T-Car anyway."

"Wait, "test"?"

"Hang on", he said as he revved up the engine.

"Oh boy", I said as I grabbed onto the car door. The T-Car then shot out of the garage and took to the air, as the car's hover mechanisms were amped up to full-on flight mode.

"Boo-yah", shouted Cyborg as he had the car spin as it ascended into the air. "Next stop, Alaska", he continued as he activated the navigation systems. He then activated some kind of turbo boost which gave some speed to the car as it flew north. "You doing okay there, Wolfman."

"I think I left my stomach back in the garage", I said sarcastically in response to his reckless flying. Cyborg responded with some hearty laughter. The flight from Jump City, California to Anchorage, Alaska was about a good five-hour trip, and though I'd like to say that Cyborg and I spent those five hours bonding and talking like normal friends would do, I was still exhausted from keeping watch over Raven the night before, so I was out like a light within the first hour or so.

As I slept, I began having a nightmare of my own. I dreamt that I was in my wolf form, running on a giant frozen lake. Chasing me, was that giant Raven from my previous dream. I'm running as fast as I can, but my paws can only carry me so fast on an icy surface. I look back at my winged predator as I run to see her talons reached out in front of her as she prepared to scoop me up. Suddenly, just when all hope seemed lost and I thought I was bird bait, Raven emerges from a shadow portal and comes to my aid.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", she says as she fires a blast of her dark energy at the large bird. Upon her powers making contact with her opponent, the large bird's body expands like a balloon, and just like a balloon, once she got too big, she popped. Raven then looks back at me with a smile as giant, black feathers begin to rain down around us. In response to this I Change back into my human form and make my way over to Raven as she descends onto the ice.

"Raven, I—", I began to speak.

"Shhh, it's okay now", whispers Raven as she interrupts me by pressing her index finger against my lips. Once I was silent, her hand then moves to the side of my face and rests against my cheek. I then instinctively reach up to hold her hand as I could feel myself being pulled in towards her.

"Guess this is really happening", I whisper as I move closer and closer to her lips.

"I guess so", replied Raven as she moved closer to mine. My eyes were just about to close as I prepared to kiss her, but then something happened. Raven then lets out a groan of pain her body begins to buckle under itself.

"Raven! Raven, what's wrong", I ask her as I hold her in my arms.

"It's too late for me", she whispers just before she groans again, this time, shoving me away from her as she did so. As she drops onto the icy floor, she begins having a seizure as red symbols and letters began appearing all over her body. The symbols burnt so bright that they could be seen through her leotard.

"No. No, what do I do", I ask aloud in a sort of panic. It was then that up in the sky above was an aurora, whose colors consisted of blue, orange, and yellow. "Adryen? Taiyo? Asia? Are you guys up there", I cried out. It was then that Raven let out a loud scream as her body began lifting into the air. As that was happening, the red text on her body began peeling off of her as it began circling her. At this point, Raven's eyes were completely white and lifeless, and her mouth hung open a little. She looked like she was possessed. To make matters worse, me and Raven were not alone. The demonic voice was there as well.

"The Gem was born of evil's fire. The Gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim, he comes to sire. The end of all things mortal."

"Shut up. Shut up", I shouted both in anger and fear. Upon hearing my desperate plea, the voice began laughing again as the black feathers began circling around me and Raven. "Let Raven go, you creep! What do you want", I asked. My answer came in the form of one of the black feathers that escaped from the wind cyclone and floated down in front of my face. I grab it out of the air and observe it. I gasped once I noticed what looked like white ink scribbled on the feather. And what did the ink illustrate a picture of? None other than an eyeball, just like the one Kendall was known for. I was just about to scream myself, when the demonic voice spoke again.

"The lone wolf of darkness will die, when the autumn moon appears in the sky." The voice begins cackling once again, as Raven lets out one more scream, before she becomes swallowed by a blinding red light.

"RAVEN! NO", I hollered at the top of my lungs as the red light began burning brighter and brighter, until eventually I had gone blind.

"Wolfman! Wolfman, wake up! Wolfman", shouted Cyborg as he shook me awake with his free hand.

"I won't let you take her", I screamed as I shot up from leaning against the car window.

"Take who", asked Cyborg. Upon hearing his voice, I began looking myself over. I was back in the T-Car with Cyborg, my body was drenched in sweat, I was out of breath, and my hands were shaking as I held them out in front of me.

"What happened", I asked Cyborg in between breaths.

"You fell asleep, and then had one Hell of a nightmare." In response to his words, I let out a groan as I leaned back into my seat.

"It was all just a dream", I said aloud, basically repeating what Cyborg had just finished telling me.

"You okay?" I hesitated before answering him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay", I lied. The truth was, I wasn't so sure. It had been years since I had a nightmare like that, and I was hopeful that I would never have them again. Yet there I was, in the company of a friend, having another one. I also was shaken up because I was certain that it was no coincidence that I started having nightmares again featuring that deep, demonic voice, right around the same time that I was dealing with the white cloaked woman, Kendall, and this mystery evil that was out to kill me.

"This oughtta cheer you up", said Cyborg pulling me out of my inner thoughts.

"What will?"

"Just take a look below us." I looked out the window as he instructed, which as he said, did give me a feeling of relief, enough to distract me from the horror I just went through.

"Welcome home", said Cyborg as the T-Car began flying deeper down downtown Anchorage. "So, where to?"

"Well—", I began. My thoughts were interrupted upon hearing the sounds of police sirens below us.

"This is the Anchorage Police. Land your vehicle and pull over", said the cop from his megaphone.

"Perhaps flying around in the T-Car wasn't such a great idea", said Cyborg as he began reaching for a button which I assumed would trigger the landing gear.

"Don't even think about landing the car."

"Why not?"

"I don't have time for this foolishness. Grab the wheel", I said as I closed my eyes.

"Say what?"

"And prepare to dive."

"What do you mean "dive"?" It was then that the cops began firing their guns up at the T-Car.

"You're going to have to trust me, Cyborg. Now dive, Fool! Dive! Dive!"

"This had better work", said Cyborg as he immediately began spiraling downwards into a spinning nose dive. "Now what", asked Cyborg as the two of us began spinning faster and faster as we plummeted to the ground.

"Hang on", I said as I had to wait for the traffic below us to scatter. Once it did and all the other cars were away from our intended crash course, I used my powers to open up a shadow portal, just in time for us to dive into it.

"Uh, where are we", asked Cyborg as we sat in the T-Car as it floated in a sea of black nothingness.

"Don't worry, I'll take it from here", I said as I used my powers to propel the T-Car forward. From the safety of the Shadow Zone, I drove the car all the way to Redrock Court, my neighborhood. Once we arrived, I noticed that my mother's car wasn't in the garage, which not only meant that there was more than enough room for the T-Car, but it also meant that my mother wasn't home at the moment. "Perfect", I said as I began to lift the car upwards. I then opened up another shadow portal, and as we lifted up into it, the T-Car emerged from the ground inside the garage. "If anybody saw that, then we deserve to be caught", I said jokingly as I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened my car door.

"Hold up. Wait a second", said Cyborg as he turned his car off and opened his door. "What was that all about", he asked as he closed his car door and followed me to the door leading into the house.

"What's wrong?"

""What's wrong"? What's wrong is that we just got shot at by the cops, and now we're gonna break into your mother's house."

"Yep", I said as I opened the door.

"Disarm system now", said the computer voice to the house's security system. I then punched in the code before the timer ran out. "Disarmed. Not ready to arm", said the computer voice upon receiving the correct code.

"Dude, what are you doing", whispered Cyborg as if somebody else was in the house.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Because, we're breaking into somebody's house."

"Calm down, Cyborg. Mom's office is a forty-five minute drive from here without traffic. And without me, she has no reason to come here during her lunch break. We'll just grab my stuff, maybe raid the fridge at the last minute, and then we'll leave before she even gets here. Let's not freak out." Cyborg groaned in response as he was still unsure about the whole thing. "Besides, as far as anybody else knows, I still live here, so who's to say that you're not an invited guest? Plus nobody, including the cops, saw us bring the T-Car here, so we're in the clear. Okay?"

"Fine", said a reluctant Cyborg.

"Good. Now help me with these suitcases", I said as I opened a nearby closet and pulled out a set of three suitcases (one of the sets that comes with one large one, one medium-sized one, and one small one all with identical designs). We then brought them upstairs to the second floor, where the kitchen and living room were. "I'm kinda hungry. Can I get you anything", I asked Cyborg as I put the suitcases I was carrying down by the couch and headed for the kitchen.

"Ugh, I need some air", said a dramatic Cyborg as he walked over to the large, sliding window that acted as a door that led to the second floor patio outside. "Hey, look who's here", he continued as he pulled back the curtains. "Looks like your cousin followed you home."

"What're you talking about", I asked him as I turned around to see what Cyborg was referring to. On the other side of the window, perched on the patio fence was a bald eagle. Though I recognized the eagle and therefore it was a friend of mine, it wasn't the same eagle that Cyborg thought it was.

"Come on in, Monica", said Cyborg as he opened the door and offered his hand so that the eagle could be let in.

"Uh, Cyborg, I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not", he asked as he continued his path towards the eagle. Once he had gotten to close to him, the eagle leapt forward and dove at Cyborg's head. In response to this, Cyborg immediately hit the deck as the large bird of prey flew over him and entered the living room, making his perch on the back of the couch. The irritated eagle let out a couple of squawks as his feathers began to ruffle. He wasn't exactly very trusting of other animals, especially humans, so he didn't appreciate being touched by most people.

" _Cool it"_ , I said to the eagle as I imitated an eagle's cry. The eagle, still a bit pissed off squawks back at me in response. "Hey! What'd I just say?" The eagle then lowers its neck forward like a vulture as if anticipating an attack. Cyborg's invasion of personal space shook him up pretty bad. Before he had a chance to wig out again, I opened up the nearby pantry and found me a can of tuna. I then used my claws to cut open the can and scape it out into a bowl I pulled out of the cupboard. I then placed the bowl on the kitchen counter and clicked my tongue. In response, the eagle flew over to the kitchen and helped himself to the gift of free fish.

"What was _that_ ", asked a hysterical Cyborg as he picked himself up off of the floor and closed the patio door.

" _That_ is Don, a _real_ eagle", I said as I pointed to the bird from inside the pantry, as I was still scrounging around for something to bite into.

"Don", asked Cyborg as he was curious about the choice of name for the eagle.

""Don" is short for "Donald", as he was eating a duck the first time I met him. I also call him _the_ Don, as he likes to think that he's the toughest guy in town."

"Cute", said Cyborg as he circled around another counter. "Just keep that guy under wraps." Cyborg then jumps upon hearing the sound of something tapping against the glass of a nearby window, or rather, some _one_.

"Hey, Cy", I said from the pantry. "Do me a favor and let Stormy and Squint in."

"Let who in?"

"The two furballs by the window", I said as I walked out of the pantry with a giant tub of nuts and another can of tuna. Cyborg then turns behind him to see that outside of the window, a young tree was growing in between this and the house next door. On one of the branches of the tree, the one that stretched right to the window, was a female Russian Blue cat, and a male red squirrel. "Go on", I urged him when he looked back at me in disbelief. Cyborg then walks over, and then hesitantly opens the window. He then jumps upon the sudden movement of my two furry friends leaping through the window and off of the set of drawers that sat just under the windowsill. The two small mammals then made their way to the kitchen, where I greeted them with two bowls on the floor, one with tuna, and one with a mixed assortment of cashews, peanuts, and walnuts.

"There's a squirrel, an eagle, and somebody's cat", began Cyborg as he pointed out the fact that Stormy had a sparkling, pink collar around her neck, "having lunch in your kitchen, and this doesn't strike you as "weird"?"

"Nah, these three always sneak into my house whenever Mom goes out."

"Doesn't Squint's owners even care that their cat is missing?"

"Her name is Stormy. _That_ is Squint", I corrected him as I pointed to the squirrel as he stuffed his little face with nuts. "And besides, she lives next door anyway, so it's not like she ran away from home."

"Whatever, can we just get this weird visit over with before this place begins to feel like even more of a petting zoo?"

"Alright, alright", I said as I walked over and turned on the t.v.. After flipping through the channels for a few minutes, I stopped when I landed on an Animal Planet special about wild cats. "Bingo. Have fun, Guys." I then led Cyborg upstairs to the third floor. Once there, the small hallway broke off into four rooms. The first room on the left was the bathroom, next to that was the laundry room, next to that was my brother's room (whenever he came home from college), and then there was my room. "This way", I said as I turned right into my room and turned on the light.

"Not even so much as a poster", asked Cyborg in reference to the empty walls of my bedroom.

"I used to have posters."

"Where'd they go?"

"I trashed them. Mom had one of her little tempter tantrums", I said as I used my powers on one of the walls. The walls of my room then began to glow a light purple as they revealed the great many claw marks that've been covered up by several paint jobs. "It seemed pointless to keep replacing them", I continued as I deactivated my powers and the walls returned to their normal white color.

"So, uh", began Cyborg as he tried to awkwardly change the subject, "what all are we packing?"

"Just the essentials", I said to him vaguely and jokingly. About a half hour later, we had finally finished packing the last suitcase.

"Video games, movies, trading cards, an iPod, and a laptop? Those are your "essentials"?"

"Yep", I said as I began fixing up my room in an attempt to make it look like I was never there.

"Really? You're taking _nothing_ else?"

"Well, no. What did you expect? I've already gone shopping back in Jump City and we wear the same thing every day, so there's no point in trying to drag any of my wardrobe back with me. Besides, the more I can leave behind of my old life, the better."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—", began Cyborg.

"It's okay, Cyborg. None of this is your fault." It was at that moment that Stormy had made her way upstairs and began meowing as she entered my bedroom. "Hey, Kitty", I said in a high-pitched baby voice as I picked her up in my arms and began petting her. The affectionate house cat began purring in delight, sending vibrations throughout my body as I cradled her.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"I mean you're a werewolf right? So like, wolves eat birds and rodents, and last I checked, cats weren't really fond of dogs. How is it that the four of you get along so well?"

"It's really not as amazing as you think", I began as I sat down on my bed, Stormy still in my grasp. "Though it is true that as a werewolf, I'm a natural enemy to these three, but humans aren't the only animals capable of making truces.

You see, Don has claimed this area as his territory. There's several lakes around here full of fish, there aren't any large birds around for miles, which means little to no competition, it's a sweet gig for him. Well, one day, a flock of seagulls flew into town and made a pit stop at one of Don's lakes. Normally, a seagull if no match for Don, but an entire flock is more than enough to overpower and chase out even the bravest of eagles. They attacked him, and drove him out of his territory, that is until I helped him out. Once the seagulls realized that a werewolf lived nearby, they all took off to find a safer environment. Eventually Don trusted me enough to follow me home one day, and he's been coming here to visit me ever since.

As for the other two, Squint had a habit of sneaking in through my mother's bathroom window at night. I eventually caught him, gave him some food, and sent him on his way. Naturally he kept coming back, and Stormy soon began inviting herself in when she noticed that other animals were getting free food from this house. My only rule was that there would be no fighting or eating one another while they were in my house, and then after a few weeks of eating and hanging out together, we formed a sort of squad. Now the three of them interact with one another freely outside of here on their own. Stormy no longer tries to eat Squint, nor does Don try to eat the other two."

"Interesting. So, is it only these three, or do you have other animal friends out there in town?"

"I have other animal friends, but they live over on the military base. That said, Stormy and the two downstairs are the only ones that come here. The others are too big. Which reminds me, we'd better get going if we wanna catch up with them", I said as I rose to my feet and placed Stormy down.

"Wait, what? Catch up with who?"

"My other friends of course", I said as I began dragging two of my suitcases downstairs.

"Oy", groaned Cyborg as he dragged the third one down after me. Once we had finished loading the car, I made one more trip upstairs to say my "goodbyes".

"Stormy! Stor-my! Here, Kitty Kitty Kitty", called my next door neighbor as she searched for her cat. I then picked up Stormy and walked her over to the window she entered from. She meowed as I placed her on top of the drawers.

"You be a good little kitty, okay", I asked her as I petted her head. Stormy purrs one more time, and then paws at the air with one of her paws. This was one of the tricks her owners had taught her. I then stick out my hand, and she high-five's it before turning and leaping through the window. Squint immediately followed her afterwards, pausing for a moment to look back at me and twitch his little nose. "Later, Squint", I chuckled as I waved my friends "goodbye".

I then closed the window behind them as I made my way over to Don, who was sitting on the back of the couch again. I then offered him my arm, which he then used as a perch as he flew over to me. I then opened the patio door and walked him outside.

"You be good now, you hear", I asked him as I petted the side of his neck with my fingers. He responded by nipping at them. Normally a bird trying to bite your fingers would be a sign of hostility, but seeing as how Don's biting didn't hurt, it was clear that this was just his "tough" way of showing affection. "Now go show 'em who's boss", I said right before lifting up my arm. Don then let out another screech as he took to the sky, flying higher and higher, until I couldn't even see him anymore. "Goodbye, Guys", I said as I leaned on the patio fence and looked up into the sky.

"You okay", asked Cyborg behind me.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Let's get going."


	13. Wolf's Apprentice

With Don and the others having already left the house, Cyborg and I then made our way back into the garage.

"Alrighty, the security system is back online", I said as I closed the door behind us.

"Good, now we can get out of here."

"Not just yet", I continued as I walked to the back of the garage.

"What? We're not done?"

"Stop your whining. I just need to grab a few more things", I said as I opened up a door leading to the house's furnace. Though it wasn't the purpose of the room, Mom and I were using it as another closet.

"Well don't take the entire house with you. And let's make this quick."

"Will you relax already? I already know exactly what I am grabbing and there's more than enough room for it all. Now give me a hand with these", I said as I offered him my guitar case."

"Nice", began Cyborg as he walked over and grabbed the instrument from my hand, "you play?"

"Yep. I was quite the aspiring musician when I was a pup. I also have these", I continued as I pulled out a two more instruments.

"Let's see, we've got a keyboard, and what looks like a tuba?"

"Close, this here is a baritone", I said as I lifted up the horn's case. "Think of it as a mini tuba."

"Whatever, are we all set?"

"Almost", I said as I walked the two instruments over to the car and loaded them up.

"What else are we forgetting", said Cyborg as he loaded my guitar.

"Now all we need is Geoffrey", I said as I walked back over to the furnace room.

"Huh? Who's Geoffrey? He another furry friend?"

"Not quite", I said back to him as I leaned back into the room. I emerged moments later carrying my old friend in my arms as I closed the door behind me. " _This_ is Geoffrey."

"You realize you're holding a busted boombox, right?"

"I know. It was a goodbye gift from my friends."

"Oh?"

"After my twelfth birthday, my mother was offered and accepted a new job in South Dakota, meaning we had to move. Before I left, Adryen and Taiyo gave me this old boombox, and placed an AI they created into it. I named him Geoffrey, and like several other valuables I've had in my possession, Geoffrey was an innocent victim of my mother's rage, so he's been sleeping by the furnace ever since, as I have been unable to repair him."

"Mind if I take a look?"

"Sure", I said as I handed Cyborg the boombox.

"What was his function", he asked as he began examining the broken machine.

"Well he was originally designed to be a companion, complete with the ability to think and learn independently. However, according to Adryen, if provided with the proper software and whatnot, in theory he can be programmed to do just about anything."

"So your friends basically created life? And they never thought to weaponize or sell this idea? And they were only twelve at the time?"

"Adryen, and especially Taiyo, are quite gifted. Both of them have IQs that make them qualified to be considered geniuses. Besides, would _you_ sell an AI like Geoffrey? Think about it, a highly intelligent machine capable of learning independently and that is compatible with just about any kind of software or technology."

"Yeah, you've got a good point there. Well then I guess it's a good thing that we're gonna make a Titan out of him."

"You mean it?"

"Of course. All I need is a couple of parts from Fixit's place, and I'll have your boy up and running once we get home."

"Thanks, Cyborg."

"No problem. Now let's go check in with these other friends of yours", he said as he walked back over to the car.

"You're a little "Gung-Ho" all of a sudden."

"I figured that considering how many rules we've broken so far, what's a few more", he said as he and I got into the car and buckled up. He then turned the key and started it up.

"Good, because now we're sneaking on-base."

"Wait, what?"

"Here we go", I said as the car sank into another shadow portal. Once inside the Shadow Zone, I used my powers once again to navigate the car to the military base just outside of Anchorage. "Welcome to JBER (Joint Base Elemendorf Richardson)", I said as the car emerged onto a street that drove past a lake. Cyborg anticipated our exit as his foot was already on the gas pedal, making it a smooth transition as the car's wheels hit the ground already rolling. The two of us then proceeded to cruise around the base aimlessly as we had nothing but time to kill.

"So uh, what're we looking for exactly?"

"Well seeing as we have a bunch of time to kill", I figured we'd just drive around and see if they find us first. Unless of course you'd rather we hike aimlessly through the woods."

"Good call", said Cyborg as he rolled down his window and rested his left arm in it. A few moments of silence went by before he spoke to me again. "So tell me something, Wolfman."

"I'm listening."

"What's with you and Raven?" In response to his question I looked over at him immediately, in fact I did so a bit too defensively. "Ha! I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You like her, don't ya", he teased as his eyebrow jumped up and down above his human eye.

"What are you—", I began as I prepared to deny his claims. However, it was then that I noticed something jump onto the road from the woods. "Cyborg, look out!" In response to my shouting, Cyborg instinctively swerved the car to the left, which resulted in us sideswiping the large mammal that was in our way as he fell over on his side upon making contact.

"Ah, man", said Cyborg as he and I got out of the car to investigate the damage. "Man, it's gonna take me a week to get that dent out of her", he said in reference to the dent on the right side of his car.

"Hey! You alive in there, Neville", I said from a crouched position as I cradled the unconscious moose's head in my arms.

"Who names a moose "Neville"?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you", I said defensively. It was at that moment that Neville shot awake, and jumped onto his hooves, throwing me onto his back in the process as I was still holding onto his head as he did so. Neville then began wiling out in a panicky manner as he rose to his back legs for a moment and pawed at the air with his front hooves. "Whoa! Easy, Neville", I shouted as I hung onto his neck to avoid being thrown off. "Whoa", I shouted again as Neville took off like a jet back into the woods from where he jumped onto the road from.

"Wolfman", shouted Cyborg in response. I heard the sound of him slamming the car door and driving off down the road just before I was out of earshot. Neville was out of control, and he wasn't planning on stopping any time soon.

"Settle down! Calm down, Neville", I shouted in his ear as I tried to get him to stop running. After a good five, maybe six minute run, Neville came to a screeching halt at the edge of the woods. Upon him stopping so abruptly, I flew off of his back, landing on my back in the process. "Neville, you giant spaz", I shouted in irritation as I rolled off of my back and rose to my feet. I then approached the panicky moose as he stomped his hoof on the ground, who despite being freaked out by something for some reason, was still standing still in the exact same spot. "Shh! Hey, what's wrong, Boy", I asked him as I petted the front of his face. It was then that I noticed that he had a few nicks and cuts on the sides of his neck and hide. I then Changed my human ears to wolf ears so that I could understand him. _"Okay, what's wrong, Neville?"_

" _Wolf! Wolf! Wolf"_ , said Neville in an extremely worried tone.

" _Yes, Neville. I'm right here",_ I said as I petted him again. Since all of the wolves that lived in the woods on the military base had been driven towards the southern end, where very few humans lived, I highly doubted he was referring to a wolf being nearby.

" _Not you"_ , began Neville as he nudged at me, urging me to turn around. It was then that I noticed that he had brought me to the edge of the woods that met with the parking lot for the base's BX (basically the shopping mall for military communities), my old place of employment. _"Wolf! In there!"_

"But why there", I asked aloud as it made little sense as to why a wolf would ever come to a highly populated area like the BX. I then looked at the ground in front of me. Just before the ground made contact with the concrete parking lot, there was a patch of mud at the border. There I saw a wolf's paw print, but there was a problem. The paw was much too big to belong to an ordinary wolf, in fact the paw print was large enough to be passed as a bear's paw print. "There's a stranger here", I said with a growl as I sniffed the air, confirming my suspicions.

" _In there! Wolf! Fight! Bruno!"_

" _Wait, Bruno's in there, too"_ , I asked the moose behind me. The nearly seven-foot deer nods his giant head in response. The situation was now even more serious than before, as Bruno and the stranger were natural enemies. _"Thanks for the tip, I'll take it from here. Now get going"_ , I said to the moose as I began to turn him around towards the woods. _"Come on! Move it"_ , I continued as I smacked his rear. In response, the moose took off like a jet again as he ran deeper into the forest. "Be safe", I said to myself just before I turned and ran towards the BX's entrance, Changing into my wolf form as I did so.

Upon seeing the large, black wolf leap from the woods, the humans, many of which were fleeing from the building in terror, gasped in shock as I weaved in and out of their panicky stampede in order to make my way to the front door. Once inside, I ran straight ahead towards the entrance to the main store.

"Hey, is that him", said some random civilian off to the side as I came to a halt at the store's entrance to observe the situation. Straight ahead of me, a huge fight had broken out between my friend Bruno, JBER's local black bear that was seen as a sort of mascot and was therefore protected by law from being hunted to due his unique size (unlike most black bears, which are considerably smaller, Bruno was large enough to pass as a grizzly bear if it wasn't for his black fur), and a lone werewolf, who had just managed bite into the back of Bruno's neck and give him a toss to the side, causing more damage to the store than me and Doctor Light did nearly a week before.

The wolf had gray fur, with a few patches of tan and brown blended into it, and he had a single scar in the center of his face as it stretched from his forehead down to the tip of his nose. He towered over Bruno at a height of six feet on all fours (though to be fair, Bruno stood at a height of ten feet on two legs, which gave him an advantage in that regard), and he looked to weigh around 400 pounds. Because his wolf form leaned more towards the animal aspect of his mutation moreso than the human aspect, he lacked the ability to stand on two legs like me, but given his size, it hardly seemed like much of a drawback. Much like wolfmen, this particular breed of werewolf was also made famous due to human storytelling, specifically due to the story telling of a certain author known as Stephanie Meyer. However, to the mutant and supernatural communities, we refer to them as guardian wolves.

"Yo, Jacob", I roared at the larger wolf as I charged at him. His natural resentment to my "Twilight" reference was more than enough to grab his attention. He then turns to face me, just in time to catch a glimpse of me before I tackled his left flank, sending him flying back a few feet. The guardian then rises back onto his paws and snarls back at me. He was trying to challenge me for dominance, and was doing so by trying to make himself look big, rather bigger than he already was.

Naturally, to show that I wasn't afraid of him, I Change into my armored form, which was slightly bigger than my regular wolf form. I then stretch out my wings and roar back at him, mirroring the intimidation tactic that he was trying on me. For added effect, I also rattled my tail. The guardian, still wanting to prove himself as a threat then rises onto his hind legs for a brief moment, in that sort of awkward fashion that dogs do whenever they hop on their back legs, and then stomps back down on the ground and snarls again. I respond by rising to my hind legs and staying there. While I was up there, I began pounding on my chest like a gorilla. I also continued to stretch my wings, continued to rattle my tail, and as an added bonus, I bumped up my werewolf roar to a tyrannosaurus roar. At this point, any animal in their right mind would take the hint and sulk away, as I was neither afraid of him, nor was I an ordinary animal, nor an ordinary werewolf for that matter. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't in his right mind.

The guardian, not buying my performance, loses his patience as he rushes forward towards me. I then planted my back paws and positioned my arms and front paws as I braced myself for impact. As expected, the guardian lunged at me with his jaws wide open as he prepared to bite me. Having seen his attack from a mile away, I caught his by his jaws in my paws and pried them open. Once they were wide enough, I reached my head into his mouth and bit down on his tongue. The large wolf let out a whine as his jaws seized from pain in response.

I then release his tongue and draw my head back as I allow his jaws to snap shut. I then used my arm to muzzle him as I wrapped it around his jaws under my right armpit. I then reached forward with my head again and pulled a Mike Tyson as I bit down on his right ear. When the guardian struggled to get away, I shook my head with his ear still in my jaws, which made the pain even more intense. When I felt he had enough, I release his ear, and push his head and jaws upward, exposing his neck and throat as my instincts slowed everything down again. I then delivered a shadow punch to the guardian's throat, sending back further than before as he crashed into and knocked over a display of tennis shoes upon impact. The weakened wolf whined in pain again as he laid on his side.

I then returned to all fours and approached him, growling as I did so. Once I stood over him, I lowered my face towards his face, still growling, flashing as many of my teeth as I could while also occasionally snapping at him. Having accepted that I had dominance over him, the werewolf whined even louder, begging for his punishment to stop. To a human, this may look like bullying, gloating, or overkill, but the fact of the matter was, that was just how wolves did things.

In the wild, alpha wolves, or higher ranked wolves, asserted dominance obviously by growling and snarling. In exchange, submissive wolves assumed to the submissive position, which consisted of whining, and lowering your body as close to the ground as possible. This was a necessary exchange between wolves in any pack, and werewolves were no different.

Once I felt I had made my point, I back away from the guardian a bit. Once that happened, the relieved guardian Changed back to his human form, revealing a young teenage boy who looked to be Alaska Native, or of some other Native American descent. It was at that moment that I heard a clatter followed by a growl behind me. Bruno was rising back to his paws, and he was pissed.

"Don't move", I said down to the boy before I trotted back over to the disgruntled bear. "Alright, Bruno. Settle down", I said to the bear. I Changed back into my weaker human form in an attempt to calm him down. Bruno replied with an angry growl. "Hey! What did I just say", I shouted as I pointed to him. The bear then walks over to me and roars in my face. I responded by punching him in the nose, which got the large mammal to whine as he fell back onto his bottom to sit. He then continued to whine as he grasped at his nose with his paws. "Oh, you're fine", I said to the blubbering bear as I walked over to one of the shelves he and the guardian knocked over and grabbed a candy bar. "Eat a Snickers, you big baby", I said as I tossed the candy bar to him. The bear's whining came to an immediate halt upon being given food.

"Way to go, Wolfman", shouted another random civilian as a few people in the crowd began clapping. I was then approached by a few of my old coworkers. Austin, a ginger-haired cashier around the same age as me who had a mountain man beard, Riley, a wide-hipped cashier in her late twenties who often gave me treats (she was another person I didn't mind acting like a pet around), Valerie, a Latina cashier around the same age as Riley, and of course, Cliff, the cart guy.

"How's it going, Guys?"

"We should be asking you that", said Austin just before Valerie ran up and embraced me. Her grip on me was strong, like she hadn't seen me in years.

"I thought we'd never see you again", she said as her voice began to break.

"I'm okay. I've only been gone for less than a week."

"Dude, didn't you hear the news", asked Austin.

"News? What news?"

"Everyone thought you were dead", said Riley.

"Wait, they did? Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Your mother", said Cliff as he stepped forward. Valerie then released me and stepped back with the others. "After that white light faded and you disappeared, the cops showed up and chased away your friend and that weird lightbulb guy. I followed them into the woods, and I saw your friend being loaded into a truck by a bunch of guys in masks.

"Yeah, I know. I recently ran into your friend Lector in Jump City."

"So that's where you ended up", asked Austin. I nodded in response.

"Some time after your friend's abduction, your mother gave in to have a talk with the bossman. After that, he went around telling everybody that the lightbulb guy had killed you."

"Psssh, he wishes."

"Yeah, and the next time he's dumb enough to show his face here, you'll be ready, right", asked Austin.

"Unfortunately, there won't be a next time."

"What do you mean", asked Austin.

"Is everything okay, Wolfman", called Cyborg as he entered the store and joined us.

"Who's he", asked Austin.

"Yeah, and is he single", asked Riley. Valerie responded by elbowing her. Riley had a preference for men of a darker complexion. "I was just asking", said Riley defensively.

"His name is Cyborg", began Cliff. "He's part of a crime-fighting team in California called the Teen Titans, and if I had to guess, I'd say you're part of the team as well", he continued as he looked towards me. I nodded in response.

"Wait so, does that mean—", began Austin.

"Sorry, Guys, but I'm needed elsewhere. I won't be staying."

"But why not", asked Riley.

"It's a long story, but basically I have a job to do back in Jump City, and I'm going to need the help of the Titans to do it", I said as I looked back at Cyborg with a grin. he nodded back to me in response.

"Good, because you're fired", shouted my former employer Mr. Jim as he stomped over to us. "In the past week, you've destroyed my store twice", he continued as he started getting into my face. "You're fired."

"Last I checked, I ceased working for you the moment my mother declared me as dead."

"Yet here you are again causing more trouble. I don't know what rock you crawled from under, but do us all a favor and crawl back under it, before the entire base crumbles to the ground."

"Sure, then next time we'll just sit back and watch the next wild animal eat you", exclaimed Cyborg as he tried to defend me.

"Relax, Cy", I said as I waved him off. "It's clear now that I'm no longer needed here, so we should probably get going."

"But what if you're right and we have another of these dangerous animal attacks", asked Valerie. "Or what if the lightbulb guy comes back? Who's going to help us?"

"We have a perfectly good police force right here", said Jim.

"Oh yeah, then where were they when Doctor Light attacked you last time", asked Cyborg. "In fact, where are they now?"

"Trust me, I wouldn't leave you guys unprotected. Despite popular belief", I began as I shot a glare at Jim, "I actually care about your safety." I then turned back to the guardian, who was still lying on the floor, which told me that he was extremely obedient, which earned my respect for him. "You, come here", I said as I pointed over to him and motioned him towards me with my finger. The guardian then rose to his feet and ran over to me. "What's your name, Son?"

"Stone Walter, Sir. I mean, Walter Stone, Sir", said the boy nervously as he stood at "attention" like a soldier.

"Well Walter, would you mind explaining to these fine people what it is you're doing here?"

"Sir—", he began trying to talk like a soldier.

"Stop that", I said to him cutting him off. Walter then corrected himself and continued normally.

"I was recently casted out from my old Pack. You see, I'm from Canada, and we recently got us a new Alpha. He kicked out anyone who he thought was too weak, and he drove us South. I eventually found my way here. I just wanted to have some territory is all." I then looked over at Bruno, who began helping himself to the candy bars and snacks on the floor.

"Well you clearly aren't as weak as your former Alpha thinks if you managed to take down Bruno. That alone takes some fighting talent."

"Uh, thank you", said Walter bashfully.

"Tell me, Walter, how old are you?"

"Uh, I just turned fifteen, Sir."

"Fifteen, not bad. I wasn't able to take down a bear of that size until my junior year", I lied. Truthfully I had a lot of practice and knowledge of how to fight off a bear long before I reached the age of fourteen, but Walter's victory was still impressive, and I figured that given his situation that he could use the confidence boost. "Where are you staying, Walter?"

"Um, I live out in the woods."

"By yourself?"

"Don't you ever get lonely", asked Riley, as she had a son only a couple of years younger than Walter.

"Sometimes, but I'm used to it. My family couldn't afford to send me to school, so I've always grown up in the forest." As sad as his story was, for werewolves and other animagi, it wasn't unheard of for individuals and sometimes entire families to give up on living life amongst humans and retreating into the wild. In fact, it happened far more often than it should.

"Well, Walter, I'm afraid that the wolves here have all taken refuge in the southern forests, and Bruno reigns supreme everywhere else. I'm afraid these are his woods. And even then, he's protected by law, so even so much as getting into a fight with him is illegal."

"I understand", said a disappointed Walter.

"But, I have a proposition for you." Walter's face immediately lit up a little having a new sense of hope. "Bruno happens to be a friend of mine. That said, I'm sure he'd be more than willing to let you set up shop here as long as you represent me."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, Walter, I'm the Prince of Darkness, and the former protector of this area. But, if I turn that responsibility over to you—".

"You mean, I can stay? Yes, as long as you give me your word that you will continue to adhere to both the human laws and the code that our kind lives by."

"I promise, I promise", said Walter with a bow.

"Very well. Then from this moment forward, you, Walter Stone, are the sole protector of JBER. It will take some time, but eventually the people here will look to you whenever they need a hero. Are you up for the challenge?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good." I then looked back at Cyborg, silently asking for his approval. Having understood what I was non-verbally asking him, Cyborg nods in response. "Here, take this", I said to Walter as I placed my communicator in his hand. "In addition, you are hereby an honorary member of the Teen Titans."

"So whenever there's trouble, you know who to call", added Cyborg.

"Awesome! Thank you so much. I promise to make you proud, Sir", said Walter as he offered me his hand. I gladly grasped it and shook it, having full confidence that this young werewolf, who had a lot of potential and reminded me of myself in multiple ways, would do a great job defending the people of JBER, which would mold him into the hero I knew he could be.

"Police! Freeze", shouted an officer as he and three others charged into the store, armed and prepared to fire. Upon seeing them draw their guns, Jim and several other civilians backed as far away from me, Cyborg, and Walter as possible, increasing their distance from us in an attempt to leave the line of fire.

"Cliff, you and the others back away from us", I said as I lifted my hands above my head. Cyborg and Walter instinctively followed my lead.

"We're not moving a muscle", retorted Riley.

"Riley", I warned her.

"She's right, Wolf. She isn't moving", said one of the officers.

"But you are", added another officer. "And bring those other freaks with you", he continued as he motioned his gun away from the group. As instructed, the three of us slowly walked away from the others, our hands still raised over our heads. "Now, get on your hands and knees."

"You can't be serious", said Cyborg.

"Hands and knees, now", repeated the officer.

"Just do as he says, Cyborg", I said to him.

"But they can't just—", he began in reference to the fact that these officers weren't following any protocol, but rather trying to publicly humiliate us, most likely due to us being mutants, or in Cyborg's case, "not looking like a human".

"Cyborg", I warned him as I dropped to my hands and knees. Walter, once again proving his loyalty and obedience, follows my lead as he drops to his hands and knees as well. Cyborg, with a groan, reluctantly began lowering himself to the ground, when another of the officers spoke out.

"Hold it right there. Drop your weapons first."

"What weapons", asked Cyborg.

"Don't you sass me, Boy! Drop your weapons!"

"Do it right now", added another officer.

"I can't", said Cyborg through his teeth as he fought back the urge to growl.

"I said to drop them", repeated the officer.

"His name is Cyborg for a reason", I said in an attempt to defend him.

"Drop your weapons now", he screamed at Cyborg. It was at that moment that I heard one of their guns click. The time for talk was over. We had no choice but to fight.

"Get behind me", I whispered to the both of my friends. "Now", I shouted as I shot to my feet. In response to my sudden movement, the officers immediately opened fire at the three of us. In response to their cowardly and juvenile assault, I quickly grew four extra arms, I then cloaked each of my six hands with my aura as I used them to knock the bullets out of the air as my hands immediately started flying in multiple directions, as I was determined to shield my friends from harm. While that was going on, Cyborg and Walter took cover behind a table that had been knocked over from the previous battle. _I don't_ _know how much longer I can keep this up_ , I thought to myself as I noticed that the cops were beginning to adjust their aim a bit, making it a tad more difficult to anticipate their shots. Fortunately, help soon arrived, for Cyborg and Walter weren't the only "non-human" friends I had in the store.

Since everyone had forgotten about the large bear in the store, as he was off on the sidelines stuffing his face at the time, Bruno caught the officers off-guard as he ran and tackled into a large tower of a soda display that one of the cops was standing next to. Naturally, to avoid being caught underneath the toppling tower, the officers immediately ceased fire and jumped out of the way, which gave me the opening I needed to create an escape route for us.

"Shadow Pulse Attack", I shouted dramatically as I clapped my hands in front of me. As a result, a powerful shockwave shot from my hands, sending the distracted officers flying backwards in multiple directions, stunning them long enough for us to make our move. "Now run", I shouted as I leapt forward and headed for the exit, Changing into my wolf form as I did so. "Come on! Move it now", I said as I paused in the doorway to look back at the others.

"What do you think we're doing", asked Cyborg sarcastically as he and Walter ran towards me and the exit. Walter had also Changed back into his wolf form at this point.

"Hurry up, Bruno", I called to the bear just as Cyborg and Walter passed by me. The bear responded by running past me as well, as I ran behind him. As we ran closer and closer to the exit, Walter let out a roar, grabbing our attention. Up ahead, waiting right outside the BX's doors, were several more police officers were their squad cars parked in a half-circle waiting for us.

"Freeze", shouted one of the officers as he began to reach for his gun upon seeing our group rushing at them. With some quick thinking on Cyborg's part, we were able to stop them from firing at us thanks to his proton cannon arm. Though he made absolutely sure to fire only at the ground, the resulting blasts still created enough force to force the officers backwards as many of them were thrown through the air. Once we made it outside, we made a break towards our left, towards the edge of the forest.

"Get going, you two", I called ahead to Bruno and Walter as I came to a halt and turned to face the police. Unlike Bruno, who didn't hesitate to continue retreating into the woods, Walter stopped dead in his tracks and Changed back to his human form, as he was not able to speak in his wolf form.

"Are you nuts? What about you", he asked me while my back was turned to him.

"He's right, Walter. We'll hold 'em off while make a run for it", added Cyborg as he too turned to face the cops, preparing to fire when needed.

"You guys sure?"

"Yeah, me and Cyborg will handle things here. We'll catch up with you later."

"Thanks, Wolfman", said Walter just before he Changed back into a wolf and disappeared into the forest behind us. Once he was gone, I turned my attention to the T-Car, which was on the far other side of the parking lot, meaning we had to go through a fleet of angry police officers to get there. Things only got worse once the original four officers ran outside to join them.

"Ready to go, Cy", I asked the Titan with a growl.

"One "three", Partner", he responded as one of his arms turned into a cannon.

"Three", we both shouted simultaneously as we charged ahead at the police, firing cannon blasts and Shadow Balls at them as we did so. It took some doing, but we eventually managed to bulldoze our way through the squad of officers to the other side. From there it was a mad dash to get to the T-Car before the police had a chance to recover in time. Fortunately, we managed to get to the car in time. _Un_ fortunately, it took its sweet time starting up.

"Come on, come on, come on", chanted a worried Cyborg as his kept repeatedly turning the key, struggling to start the car.

"Uh, Cyborg", I said as I looked through the back windshield of the car and saw that the officers had recovered and were running towards us.

"Come on, Baby. Don't quit on me now", pleaded Cyborg to the car.

"Cyborg", I repeated as the cops continued to get closer to us. Once they were, they began firing again, which resulted in the back windshield shattering due to one of their bullets. I responded to this by creating another aura shield behind the car to protect us.

"Come on", repeated Cyborg as he turned the key one more time. "Boo-yah", he said as the car finally turned on.

"Floor it", I shouted to him. In response, Cyborg slammed on the gas pedal, which resulted in the T-Car barreling out of the parking lot. He then activated the car's flight mechanisms, which immediately took us safely into the air. The two of us hovered over the parking lot for a moment before taking off as we looked at the damage we caused.

There were now several pot holes throughout the concrete of the parking lot due to our blasts, and this was all in addition to the damage that me, Walter, and Bruno caused on the inside of the building. Though we didn't have much of a choice in the matter, it was still a shame that we were forced to take such drastic measures in order to escape with our lives. Plus, the fact that we had just finished attacking a human police force, it would only make things more difficult for Walter, and mutants in general, down the road.

"Guy Pact: this never happened", said Cyborg and I simultaneously in reference to the fact that Robin would have our heads if he ever were to find out about what had just happened. Once we shook on our agreement to keep the events of this little endeavor a secret, Cyborg then activated the car's navigation systems once again. From there, we began our journey home to California.


	14. One of Us

About another five hours later, Cyborg and I once again made it back to Jump City. Though I hadn't been a resident of Jump City for all that long at that point, after everything that had happened in Anchorage, it felt good to be home, and I do mean "home".

"Home, sweet home, Baby", said Cyborg as the T-Car flew over the forest area at the edge of the city, passing by the cliff where Chang's lab was located in the process.

"Think we'll find some peace and quiet once we get home", I asked him sarcastically.

"Nope", chuckled Cyborg in response.

"Nah, I didn't think so."

"Hey, it's been a long day. Why don't you go check up on your moth buddies", suggested Cyborg as the T-Car began descending in the middle of the grassy field where I first met Serenity for a landing.

"Sure, but why? And why are we landing here?"

"Oh, uh, no reason. Just thought you'd like to get some air before you got there."

"Uh-huh, and you", I asked him suspiciously as I raised my eyebrow.

"I'll just take your stuff and unload the car for you", said Cyborg with a suspiciously cheeky grin.

"Uh, thank you?"

"Don't worry about it. I insist", he began as he began gently pushing me out of his car.

"Hey, what're you—", I said as I struggled against him. He eventually managed to push me out of his car, just as it began lifting into the air again.

"By the way, do me a favor and pick up some parts from Fixit for me", he called down to me from his rolled down window. "Thanks, Dude", he added before the car took off and headed towards Titans Tower, leaving me where I was.

"What're you up to", I asked myself in reference to his odd behavior. "No matter, I guess I'll find out later", I continued as I Changed into Gizamon and took to the air. I then headed to the other side of town, towards the southern forest area where Killer Moth's, or rather Fixit's lair was. Once I made it to the clearing, I began flying around in circles as I let out a loud howl. In response, the ramp from before that was built into the ground, tilted downwards, allowing me to fly down and walk inside. A few moments after that, I found myself in the second living room where the t.v. and kitchen were. There I was greeted a familiar face.

"Welcome back, Master", said Fixit with a bow.

"Fixit", I replied with a bow of my own. "Master Cyborg told me you'd be dropping by for some parts. If you'll follow me this way, I will retrieve them for you", said Fixit as he motioned towards the other door, extremely formal as usual.

"Then lead on", I said to him. Fixit then led me down a few new hallways until we eventually entered one of Killer Moth's many laboratories. Though I had never been in the room before that moment, the only reason I recognized it was because it was the same room Fixit was in when he first discussed the security drone with Killer Moth.

Sitting in the center of the room was a large table, the kind you see in high school chemistry classrooms. Sitting on top of the table was a large, plastic crate filled with nuts, bolts, and other techno and engineering junk that I couldn't identify. On top of the pile was the spherical drone that Killer Moth had previously used when he first introduced himself to me, though it was completely shut off.

"What's Cyborg planning to do with that", I asked Fixit as I pointed at the drone.

"Forgive me, Master, but I am not at liberty to reveal that at this time. Please accept my apologies", said Fixit as he bowed to me again.

"No, no, there's no need for that. It's quite alright." It was clear to me at that point that Cyborg was hiding something from me, and it wouldn't have been fair to force Fixit to reveal his secret to me if he truly didn't want me to know.

"I do however, have some news to report", said Fixit as he interrupted me from my inner thoughts.

"What's going on?"

"While you were away, I have detected several instances of magnitudes throughout the city", said Fixit as he walked over to a nearby computer. From there, he activated a system that displayed a holographic map of the city above the table.

"Magnitudes, huh? Any big ones?"

"None were recorded to be above a scale of 2.0."

"So the humans weren't able to detect it. That means there must be more to this report."

"Correct. Though none of the magnitudes were large enough to be sensed or detected by the citizens of Jump City, I was able to determine their origin."

"Oh?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, it is not uncommon for earthquakes to occur in the state of California. Nor is it uncommon for magnitudes less than 2.0 to occur at least once a day."

"Yes?"

"However, of the fifteen magnitudes that I recorded, only six of them were natural phenomenons. The other nine originated from this spot", said Fixit as a red mark on the holographic map highlighted a spot in a residential part of downtown.

"It's that mutant from before, isn't it?"

"That is a strong possibility, Master."

"Do the others know?"

"As you instructed, Sir, I have not reported any of my findings to the other Titans."

"Good. Until I find out who is behind this magnitudes, I'd like you to continue to keep this information between us."

"As you wish, but may I ask why?"

"I don't think it's merely a coincidence that an earth bender was present during a battle against a league of villains who plan to capture all six of the Elementals."

"Are you perhaps suggesting that the Elemental of Earth is the mystery mutant?"

"No, Taiyo's aura is different from the one I saw. Besides, I would've sensed him immediately if he was nearby. However, I do think that this mutant is involved somehow."

"Then I shall continue to look into the matter, and report to you with any new information."

"Very good", I said as I grabbed the crate of parts and headed towards the exit. "I hate to leave so soon, but I've got some business to attend to back at the tower, so give the Big Five my regards."

"Of course, Master", said Fixit as he bowed one more time.

"Catch you later, Fixit", I called back to him as I exited down the hall.

"Have a good evening, Sir." Once I had completed my errand of picking up new parts for Cyborg, I immediately began flying back towards the tower. Since I was carrying the crate as I flew, I was forced to fly from a sort of "standing" position, as opposed to flying with my belly parallel to the ground below me, meaning I couldn't fly as fast as I usually could.

"Cyborg must really want out of the tower for some reason", I said to myself as I flew over the ocean, preparing to circle around towards the tower. "Why else would he drop me off in the middle of a field, and then have me lug this box of junk across town?" It was around this time that I circled around and flew towards one of the walls of the tower, specifically, the one that led to the Ops Room. Once there, I jumped through a couple of Shadow Portals, landing by the spot where Starfire and I broke a hole in the wall as I did so. "I'm home", I shouted as I Changed back to my human form. "Yo! Titans!" The room was empty, and nobody answered my calls. "Where is everybody", I asked aloud as I walked over to the kitchen counter and placed the crate on top of it. I was just about to walk over to the couch and watch some t.v. while I waited for everyone to show up, when I noticed something on the floor behind the couch.

"What the", I asked once I realized what I was looking at. It was a Yu-Gi-Oh! card, and it was facedown. "This better not be what I think it is", I growled as I walked over to the card and picked it up. My assumptions were correct. It was one of _my_ cards. Even worse, it was one of the cards in my deck. The card I picked up was a Spell Card called "Dragon's Mirror", a personal favorite. As I examined the card for any damage, I then noticed a trail of more Yu-Gi-Oh! cards spread across the floor, all the way to the exit towards the elevators out into the hall. I then walked forward a few feet and picked up three more cards, each was a Monster Card. The three monsters I picked up were "Lady of D.", "Goyo Guardian", and "Kaibaman", more cards from my deck. "Cyborg", I growled in irritation as he was the only one who had access to my deck. I then began picking up my cards as I followed the trail towards the elevators.

Once there, I noticed that the last card, the one that sat right outside the elevator door, had a post-it note attached to it. I then picked up my "The Claw of Hermos" card, and read the note.

"Push the "down" button", I read aloud. "I'm not in the mood for this, Cyborg", I said aloud as if he could hear me. "Then again, it's not like I have anything better to do", I continued as I pushed the button. The elevator door then opened, revealing another of my cards on the floor by the buttons. This one also had a note on it. I then picked up my "Number 39: Utopia" card and read the note. "Now go down four floors", I read aloud. I then observed the corresponding buttons as I counted down from the current floor. "The Evidence Room? Why there", I asked aloud as I pushed the respective button. The elevator responded by closing its doors and making its way downward.

Once the bell rang and the doors opened, I immediately observed my new destination. There wasn't much to this floor at all. It was just a single hallway with two options as to where to go. I could either go left, or right, and both paths led directly to a dark room at the end. However, the choice was simple, as only one path was littered with my cards.

"Left it is then", I said to myself as I continued to pick up my deck as I made my way down the hallway. I got a little irritated when the path of cards stopped halfway to the room at the end. As I picked up my last card, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", I began counting off how many cards I had collected so far. Considering how long it took me to assemble that deck, I knew exactly how many cards I was supposed to have. My deck consisted of a Main Deck of 60 cards, an Extra Deck of 15 cards, a Side Deck of another 15 cards, and one Token card, for a grand total of 91 cards, and so far, I had collected a mere 36.

'Okay, so where's the other 55", I asked to myself again as I looked up at the dark room ahead of me. "I'm warning you, Cyborg", I called into the room with a growl as I stomped inside. "If this is a joke—", I began as I began scanning through the darkness. Just then, the lights kicked on, and the startling sound of confetti poppers began filling my ears as balloon fell from the ceiling. "Ah! What the fuck", I screamed as I dropped all the cards in my hands.

"Surprise", shouted the Titans. And by "Titans", I mean Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy. Raven and Robin weren't really the "surprise" type.

"What, what's all this", I asked with my hand over my heart as I struggled to catch my breath.

"It's a home coming", said Beast Boy. "We figured you should have your own room, instead of sleeping on the couch", he said as he motioned over towards my bed. It had a purple comforter, with red bed sheets underneath. The bed itself was positioned right next to a large window with a great view of the ocean that stretched down to the floor, much like the one in Raven's room.

The walls of my room consisted of different blending shades of purple, gray, and black, again, much like Raven's room. And diagonally across from the foot of my bed, next to the doorway to my room, was a large dresser with a diamond-shaped mirror, again, just like in Raven's room. There was also a large closet in the wall parallel to the side of my bed across from the doorway, in the corner by my closet, was my guitar, my baritone, and my keyboard, with a chair. And directly at the foot of my bed, to the left of my dresser, was another dresser that acted as a media station, as it had a t.v. rested on top of it, and it also had a pair of doors in front of it that opened up to reveal that my Nintendo Wii, and PS2 that I had brought back with me were set up and plugged into the t.v., ready for use. My trading card collections were also inside of the media station, including the deck box that contained the rest of my Yu-Gi-Oh! deck.

There was also another dresser by my bed with two bookshelf-like shelves in it. On top of that dresser was my laptop, my iPod, and a lamp. And on the two shelves underneath, was my personal DVD collection, all of which had been alphabetized.

"Guys, this is, this is—", I began as I struggled to speak. I then looked down once I noticed that the cards I dropped onto the floor were cloaked in Raven's black aura. The cards then all floated into the air, and neatly made their way, in a single-file fashion to the deck box, where they all neatly fell inside.

"I provided the comfiest mattress, and the fluffiest pillows to accompany the colors of your new bed sheets", said Starfire.

"I provided the media station and hooked up all of your systems", said Robin.

"I provided, manual labor", said Beast Boy as he tried to make his role in setting up my room sound important, though to be fair, it was.

"And I provided the color scheme", said Raven off to the side. She blushed when I made eye contact with her.

"And that's not all", said Beast Boy as he made his way over to my closet. "Check out what she and Robin did with all of that fabric they bought. Inside, each hung on hangers, were about fifteen identical custom-made outfits. Beast Boy pulled one out and held it up to himself so that I could get a better look at it.

The base of the outfit consisted of a black men's unitard, kinda like the leotard that Raven wore. However, it had a few additions added onto it. For instance, there were silver sleeves attached to the shoulders of the unitard, made out of the same material as Robin's cape. Connected to each outfit, on the waist, was what looked like a power belt, as there was no real reason for it being there, as the outfit didn't require a belt. However, it did make the outfit look cool, and in the center of each belt was one of Raven's red and black jewels. As Beast Boy rotated the outfit around, I noticed that the silver material that made up the sleeves, also stretched down the sides of the torso, as well as made up the borders around the arms and legs, giving it an even symmetrical look. And finally, in the center of the chest, was another jewel, though it was completely pitch black, but I didn't care, it still looked cool.

"And there's more", said Robin as he walked over to me with a few more items in his hands. "This shoulder strap doubles as a whip, to increase your combat options should your shapeshifting powers ever fail you", he said as he handed me the strap. It was a brown leather strap with silver spikes on one side of it. It was meant to wrap around my torso in a diagonal, kinda like the one that Mammoth wore. "These gauntlets are made from pure silver, which should help give you a bit more protection, not to mention add to the whole werewolf motive", he said as he handed me the two gauntlets. They were designed to fit snugly on my arms as they stretched from my wrists to right under my elbows.

"We utilized one of Beast Boy's comical books as a reference", said Starfire. "For you see—", she began again before I cut her off.

"You guys made me a new uniform? And you based it off of Marvel's Man-Wolf?"

"And finally", began Robin, "there's this", said Robin as he handed me a collar. The collar was purple, with a silver dog tag at the front in the shape of a crescent moon. On the back of the dog tag were the words, "Wolfman of the Teen Titans. Jump City, California". "Unlike your uniform, which will disappear as you shapeshift, this collar was specifically created to Change as you do, thanks in no small part to Raven's magic, and Cyborg's engineering."

"I had to use BB's genetic code as a reference", added Cyborg.

"Since we needed to make sure that you had a guaranteed way of staying in touch, we also went ahead and added another communicator to the collar, so you can call us no matter what form you happen to be in", continued Robin.

"I, I, I—", I stuttered as I was still at a loss for words.

"Oh, and there's one more thing", said Cyborg as he snapped his fingers. My bedroom door opens once again as Killer Moth's old spherical drone, turned on and operational once again.

"What the? How did you—", I began.

"While you were gawking at your new room, Raven snuck away and grabbed the drone from upstairs", began Cyborg. "And I had the preparations for the transfer ready to go before you even got back."

"What transfer?" In response to my question, the drone began scanning me again. The drone then spoke out once it had finished.

"Scanning complete", said the drone in Joseph Marcell's voice (there was a reason why I named the AI, "Geoffrey"). "It's a been a while, hasn't it, Sir?"

"Geoffrey? Is that you?"

"In the circuitry, Sir. Welcome home", said Geoffrey as he floated away and hovered near the others. Beast Boy then walks up to me and takes the three accessories I held in my hands and placed them and the uniform he was holding on my bed.

"So, what do you think", he asks me with a cheeky grin. My mouth hung open as I tried to fill the silence in the room with a response, but no words came out. "I knew it! He hates it! I told you he'd get offended by the dog collar, Cyborg."

"Say what? What about you? You're the one who suggested we move him four floors underneath us where the Game Room used to be."

"Or perhaps it is because we modeled his uniform after a comical book villain", suggested Starfire.

"I'm not so sure that's helping", said Robin. Beast Boy and Cyborg then proceed to argue with each other, as they do. In response to this, the others all sort of shake their heads at their juvenile noise. However, the fighting comes to a stop once everyone notices that I started sniffling, and my eyes started watering up. I shielded my eyes with my arm in an attempt to not look like a wimp.

"Robin, Raven, everyone, I— I don't know what to say", I said to them as my voice started to break. "How can I ever thank you?"

"There's no need", said Cyborg.

"Yeah, you've already done plenty for us", added Beast Boy.

"But since you asked", began Raven as she began comforting me with her aura again, which helped to reduce the amount of blubbering that I was doing, "there is _one_ thing you can do", she continued. I lowered my arm to find that she had the uniform that was on my bed floating in front of me. Having understood what she wanted me to do, I grabbed it and pulled it towards me.

"We'll be upstairs in the Ops Room", said Robin as he and the others all left my bedroom. Raven, the last of the Titans to exit my room, paused for a moment to smile back at me before exiting.

"I'll leave you to it, Sir", said Geoffrey as he floated out of my room as the door closed behind him. Once he was gone, I walked over to the mirror that sat on top of my new dresser by the door.

"Welp, time to suit up", I said to myself as I held up my new uniform to my body. I then spent the next few minutes changing my clothes as I ditched my everyday gym clothes, for my new and improved battle uniform, complete with the shoulder strap, the silver gauntlets, and my new collar, which fit perfectly on my neck. Once I had completed getting dressed, I noticed that my uniform had one more surprise to it. The jewel that sat in the center of my chest, apparently was designed to react to my aura, which caused the black jewel to turn purple. _You rock, Raven_ , I thought to myself as I looked at myself in the mirror. For the first time in a _long_ time, I actually liked the person that looked back at me. I then exited my room and made my way towards the elevator. On the way there, Geoffrey was waiting for me.

"Well done, Sir. You look fit for battle", said the AI to me.

"Glad to have you back, Buddy."

"It's a pleasure to _be_ back, Sir", said Geoffrey. "Will that be all, Master Fernando?"

"For the moment. Thank you, Geoffrey." Geoffrey then floats back down the hall, disappearing into my room as the door closed behind him. I then entered the elevator and made my way back up to meet the Titans in the Ops Room.

Once there, the others immediately ceased what they were doing as they made me the center of attention. Even Silkie, who was chasing his rear end at the time as if he had a tail (because apparently even _he_ found that entertaining), stopped dead in his tracks upon noticing my new threads.

"So uh, how do I look", I asked bashfully as I scratched the back of my head.

"Like a Titan", said Raven with a smile, as she was the first to respond. My face started burning immediately upon hearing her say that.

"I agree", added Cyborg.

"Oh, he looks so handsome", said a gleeful Starfire.

"Lookin' good, Bro", said Beast Boy as he gave me a thumbs up. Suddenly the room began to flash red again, as well as everyone's individual communicators. It was then that I noticed that the silver dog tag on my new collar began to flash as well.

"Looks like that time again", said Cyborg.

"Then what are we waiting for", I asked as I looked to Robin. The others followed my lead as they also looked to Robin. Robin then grins and nods his head in response before speaking.

"Titans, go", he shouts as he points dramatically behind me. In response, the six of us all rush towards the exit, eager to head into battle as a team.

 _Best, job, ever_ , I thought to myself as I ran alongside my friends.


	15. Magician's Duel

"Forgive my curiosity, Cyborg, but what has become of your baby", asked Starfire in reference to the T-Car and its lack of a back windshield. Not to mention the moose-sized dent on its right side. The six of us were back in a familiar scenario, racing down the road on our way to take down a villain. Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy traveled by air, while Robin, Cyborg, and I traveled by land.

"Uh, care to answer that for her, Wolfman", asked Cyborg to me as I ran alongside him and the T-Car.

"Sorry, can't hear you", I replied as I ran ahead of him a bit. I wasn't about to let him throw me under the bus.

"Never mind that right now", said Robin on his R-Cycle. "Right now we've got a job to do."

"And what's on the agenda for today", asked Cyborg.

"Another back robbery."

"Again", asked Cyborg. "Doesn't he have more productive ways to waste our time?"

"If he did, then we'd probably wouldn't go out _nearly_ as often", said Raven sarcastically. "Wolfman, are you up for a magic fight", asked Raven as she flew over me. Her question gave me a hint as to who the villain was we were rushing to fight against.

"Ooooh, a magician's duel", I replied in excitement. "I smell a challenge. I'm in."

"Good", began Robin. "The sooner we deal with this yahoo, the better. Titans, split up", said Robin as he revved up his R-Cycle and sped down the road. Since he was in the only other vehicle, Cyborg naturally hit the gas and drove after him. Starfire then flies higher into the air, taking a shortcut as she flew over the rocky walls towards the city. The flying green dinosaur flew right behind her.

"After you, my lady", I said to Raven above me. She then opened a shadow portal up ahead of us as she floated down closer to me as I ran. The two of us then rushed through the portal and entered the Shadow Zone together at the same time.

From the darkness of the Shadow Zone, Raven and I eventually made our way the city bank. Once we arrived, we discovered a skinny man with blue skin and a big nose in a tuxedo running out of the front door with a sack draped over his shoulder. He also wore a top hat, a pair of white gloves, and a cape, and his balding head had white hair. Additionally, on an interesting side note, he also wore the exact same masquerade-like mask that Robin did.

The man then made a sharp left down an alleyway, which gave him a clear path to the next street. He then ran into the middle of the street into traffic.

"Taxi", he shouts as he stuck his free hand out in front of him. I already hated his voice already as he sounded like a real-life Spongebob. In response to his hail, the taxi that was just about to hit him screeches to a halt. It then lifts into the air, and begins spinning around uncontrollably. This resulted in the taxi's driver being flown high into the air several yards away. Fortunately for him, Starfire showed up just in time as she managed to catch him before he hit the ground. "Oh darn", began the magician sarcastically as he snapped his fingers. "You caught my pop-fly. Oh well, guess that means I'm out", he said as the taxi returns to the ground, allowing him to climb inside. The taxi was just about to speed off, when a green gorilla fell from the sky and landed on top of the cab. He then climbed towards the front and roared at the magician through the glass of the windshield. "Oh goody, that's just what I needed, a monkey on my back", said the magician as he slammed on the gas pedal.

"Whoa", screamed Beast Boy as the taxi's sudden acceleration caused him to morph back into his human form, nearly causing him to lose his grip in the process.

"Some people don't know when to quit", he said to himself as he swerved back and forth trying to shake Beast Boy off. It was then that Cyborg and Robin rounded the left and right corners of the four-way intersection up ahead, causing the magician to slam on the brakes. Beast Boy was thrown off of the cab in response, but managed to land on the ground as a tiger, as he turned and roared at the cab.

At this point Raven joined the battle as she exits the Shadow Zone behind the cab, Starfire catching up to everyone by this time, and cloaks the cab with her aura. She then lifts it into the air, immobilizing the magician inside.

"Azarath Metrion—", she began before the magician interrupted.

"Hold it", he said as he snapped his fingers. In response to this, a roll of duct tape materialized out of nowhere and sealed Raven's mouth, breaking her concentration as the cab plummets to the ground. After the car crashed, the magician steps out and dusts himself off, as if implying that he had been roughed up. "Well, I'm going to have a word or two with this taxi company. They have _terrible_ customer service." I was just about to interrupt his pitiful attempt at a comedy act, when Raven stopped me.

 _No, not yet_ , she said to me telepathically as she ripped the tape off of her face. I didn't know what she was planning, but I trusted her, so I waited. If only Raven knew at that moment that I would do anything she asked of me.

"Show's over, Mumbo", said Robin as he and Cyborg dismounted their vehicles and stood by Beast Boy's side.

"Aw, now you've hurt my feelings", said a sarcastic Mumbo as he pulled a red handkerchief from one of his sleeves. Attached to it was a yellow handkerchief, and then a blue one, and then another red one, and so on, until eventually he made his way to a white one at the end, which he used to blow his nose. "It's like you don't know me at all, and after all we've been through."

"What is that supposed to mean", asked Starfire.

"It means, my dear, that the show is never over", he says as a magic wand materializes in his hand. "Mumbo Jumbo", said the magician as he waved his magic wand. It was then that a pair of giant white gloves, similar to the ones he wore, appeared out of thin air. The gloves then proceed to attack the Titans as one of them balled into a fist and rammed into Robin, while the other chased after Cyborg.

"Aw, man! I hate these things", he yelled as he fired at it with his cannon. Unfortunately for him, his attack missed as the glove leapt into the air and wrapped its fingers around him like a straight jacket. "Lemme go", he grunts as he falls to the ground, struggling to free himself. Beast Boy then lets out a roar as he charges at Mumbo. In response to the jungle cat's assault, the magician does a bunny hop just before the tiger made contact with him.

"Whoopsie", he says in a high-pitched voice as half of a see-saw pops out of the ground, as if Mumbo jumped onto the other half, and clocks the tiger under his chin, sending him flying and crashing into Starfire. The two of them then fell onto the ground, Starfire pinned underneath Beast Boy. Mumbo's wand then turns into a cane as he turned his attention to Raven. The cane then stretches towards Raven as it hooks around Raven's hips, pulling her towards him. "What a lovely cloak", said Mumbo as he held the back of it in his hands. "Do you mind if I borrow it?" Before Raven, who was stunned by his question, could answer, he yanks it as hard as he could, which somehow resulted in Raven spinning uncontrollably like the cab did earlier.

"Ah", screamed Raven as her spinning body zig-zagged back and forth like a top until she crashed into Robin. Mumbo then takes the cloak and throws it over Starfire and Beast Boy. His magic made the cloak big enough to conceal them both. Mumbo then spits of his hands and rubs them together as he walks over to the cloak.

"Abra, Cadabra", he says as he pulls the cloak away, revealing that the two Titans had disappeared. "Ta-da!" Cyborg then lets out a loud growl as he rips through the glove that was binging him and rushes at Mumbo. "Trust me, you're going to need this", said Mumbo as an Alka Seltzer tablet appears in one of his hands. He then flips it like a coin as it shoots high into the air. He then rushes over to Cyborg, somehow changing his wardrobe in the process as he was now dressed like a lion tamer. "Crikey! Look at the size of them there dentures", he said in an attempt to sound like the late Steve Irwin as he pried opened Cyborg's jaws and stuck his head inside. Cyborg flailed his arms in discomfort in response to Mumbo's invasion of personal space. Mumbo then pulls his head out at the last minute as the tablet from earlier falls into Cyborg's mouth.

"Why you twisted little—", began Cyborg after he forcefully swallowed the tablet. He stopped stopped mid-sentence suddenly as placed his hands on his stomach. It was at this point that his face started to turn a greenish color.

"It's not easy being green, is it, Kid", asked Mumbo. Cyborg then drops to his knees as he began retching and belching uncontrollably. "He's gonna blow", shouts Mumbo dramatically as his top hat turns into a hard hat. Mumbo then pulls out an umbrella and shields himself with it, anticipating the fact that Cyborg was about to hurl. Cyborg then gives one last belch, which resulted in him spitting up two cats, one orange, and one green. Mumbo then snaps his fingers, which resulted in him sitting at a drum set that materialized out of nowhere. "Talk about "cat got your tongue"", he said before giving a rimshot in response to his pun.

"You're a foul, little man", said Cyborg as he gasped for air. Starfire and Beast Boy, both looking a tad traumatized after being barfed up by Cyborg, began shaking out their fur, as they were both covered in stomach juices.

"What's the matter, Kid? Don't like cat food", asked the corny magician as he looked down at the Titans. Robin, having recovered at this point, responded with a battle cry as he lunged at Mumbo with a flying kick, landing a swift blow to Mumbo's gut as he was pushed back a few feet.

"I'm actually more of a dog person, myself", he said as he pulled out his bo-staff."

 _That's your cue_ , said Raven to me telepathically. I then lunged at Mumbo with a roar from a shadow portal that I opened behind him. As a result, I tackled him to the ground, pinning him on his stomach as I stood on top of him as I growled in his ear.

"Aww, a puppy", said Mumbo. "Does Puppy wanna play a game? It's called Hide-N'-Seek", he continued before disappearing into thin air, leaving only his clothes behind. I lowered my nose and sniffed them, hopeful that I could hopefully pick up a scent.

"Wolfman, look out", shouted Robin as a bath tub fell from the sky above me. I jumped out of the way just as it hit the ground. However, despite that, and the fact that it wasn't hooked up to anything, inside the shower curtain the water was running from the shower head. Thinking it was a trick, I rose to my hind legs as I pulled back the curtain, only to find a naked Mumbo inside.

"Oh, how dare you", asked a hysterical Mumbo imitating a woman's voice as he slapped me across the face. A roar then erupted from my jaws as I began slashing at the shower curtain. It was nothing but ribbons in a matter of seconds, which told me that Mumbo was no longer behind the curtain.

"Now where is he", I asked with a growl.

"Why, are you looking for little 'ole me", asked Mumbo in a pink dress that made him look like he belonged in a 50s western film. He fluttered his eyes at me and Robin from behind a fan that he held in front of his face.

"O-kay, definitely not something I needed to see", said Raven as she put her cloak back on. She and Cyborg then joined us as we stood in front of Mumbo. Mumbo then pulls the dress off to reveal him in a cowboy outfit as he positioned his hands above the supposed guns he had at his sides.

"Draw", he said as he took a step towards us.

"I got this", said Cyborg as both of his arms turned into cannons. He then pointed them straight at Mumbo. "Show me what you've got, Blue Man." Mumbo responds by basically reenacting a scene from "The Mask", or a Bugs Bunny cartoon, as he pulls out several giant cartoony guns from his sides and points them at us. "Well okay then", said Cyborg sarcastically, yet nervously having realized he was outmatched.

"Hasta la vista, Baby", said Mumbo, who's voice was so high-pitched that he had no hope of try to pull off that impersonation effectively.

"Look out", shouted Robin as he tackled Cyborg from behind. Mumbo then fired his cartoon guns just as the two human Titans made it to the ground. The bullets flew right over there heads and made their way towards me and Raven.

 _I'll be fine, go now_ , said Raven to me in my mind as she prepared to create a shield for herself behind me. With the confidence that she was going to be okay, I leapt into the air, Changing into Gizamon as I did so. From there, I took a dive at Mumbo from above. However, before I could get close enough to him, Mumbo saw me coming, and began firing up at me, forcing me to teleport away from him as he desperately tried to shoot me down.

"Dance, Doggy. Dance", cackled Mumbo as I weaved in and out of the shower of bullets as he followed me with his guns.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", shouted Raven as she cloaked Mumbo in her aura, immobilizing him as she lifted him into the air. Upon seeing her do so, I seized the opportunity and shot straight up higher in the air. Once I felt I was high enough, I did a backflip and barreled straight towards the ground. I kept going, increasing speed as I shot down like a rocket, until I felt I was close enough to the desired height. Once I was, I opened my wings and straightened out, cloaking my entire body in my aura as I charged at Mumbo, still frozen due to Raven's aura. Mumbo let out a shriek upon realizing what I was about to do.

"Shadow, Blitz", I shouted with a snarl as I rammed into Mumbo, square into his torso, which resulted in him being thrown backwards a few feet. Waiting for him as he was thrown to her, was Raven, who delivered a backflip kick to the back of his head once he got close enough, sending him higher into the air. Before gravity took hold of him and plummeted him to the ground, Raven and I flew above Mumbo, who made eye contact with us just before he began to fall. "Atlantis Auroros Motom", I shouted as I fired a purple stream of dark energy from my paw.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", added Raven as she fired a dark stream of her own from her palm. The two streams then merged together as they collided with the falling magician, which sent him barreling into the ground below with intense speed and force, so much in fact that a cloud of smoke appeared upon impact. The two of us then descended to the ground, each standing on one side of the dust cloud, patiently waiting for it to disappear before retrieving our defeated enemy. To our dismay, the two of us were shocked to discover, once the cloud faded away, merely a red ribbon where an unconscious Mumbo was supposed to be.

"You've gotta be kidding me", I said with an irritated growl. Mumbo then appeared off to the side of us in a cloud of smoke. He then pulled out his magic wand, and began playing that cliched snake charmer's tune as if it were an instrument. The red ribbon, as if it were in fact a snake, came to life, as it stretched to a much larger size, and then proceeded to tie up me in Raven into a bundle as the two of us were dropped to the ground back-to-back when the ordeal was over. I was forced back into my human form as a result of Mumbo's ambush.

"That oughtta _wrap_ things up", chuckled Mumbo as he leaned into Raven's face.

"Back off, Dumbo", I growled as I glared behind me at him.

"That's _Mum_ bo, to you, Sir", he corrected me. "And it's about time somebody tamed that inner beast of yours", he continued as he snapped his fingers again. In response, a large book, which I guess was supposed to be a spell book (though I could tell it was fake), and began "reading" through it. "Let's see here, what's the best way to silence a werewolf? Muzzle? Cone of shame? Perhaps a flamethrower", said Mumbo to himself as he pulled a muzzle, dog cone, and flamethrower out of thin air. "Aha! Here, we go. What better way to sooth the savage than through music", he said as his wand turned into a flute. He then goes on to play "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

"Shadow Ball", I shouted with a growl as I fired a Shadow Ball at his face from my mouth. His head shrunk down into his collar for a brief moment as if he were a turtle as he dodged.

"Good, I hate that song", said Raven as she looked back at Mumbo.

"Me, too", I added.

"Guess you're not suffering from Bieber Fever", said Mumbo as he scratched his chin. "Hmmm, what do you kids listen to these days? Eh, I'll just let you get _into_ the music", he said as his flute turned back into a wand. "Mumbo Jumbo", he said as he waved it over my head. After that, I wound up getting my head stuck in a tuba as it dropped onto my head. My growl echoed through the tuba at him. "Come on, that was good! These are the jokes, Kid." Raven and I just sat in silence for a moment before he spoke again. "Hmmm, tough crowd."

"That's because your comedy act is just like your magic act: unfunny, juvenile, painful to sit through, and a colossal waste of everyone's time", I growled to him from inside the tuba. Though neither she or Mumbo could see my face, I had a smile on my face upon hearing Raven laugh at _my_ joke.

"Grrr, says the mutt with a tuba on his head", retorted an irritated Mumbo. I could tell that he was up in my face based on the closeness of his voice.

"Mumbo, I have to ask, what's it like having Spongebob's voice and Squidward's nose", I asked him in response. This time I got Robin and Cyborg to laugh in addition to Raven.

"Why you little—", began Mumbo, as I guess he was about to strike me with something. He got interrupted by Cyborg as I heard him finally manage to land a cannon blast on him. I then heard the sound of Robin and Cyborg chasing after Mumbo as Raven and I sat where we were, still trapped. I tried shaking the tuba off of my head, which resulted in me accidentally bonking Raven on the head behind me.

"Ow."

"Sorry", I said as I immediately came to a stop.

"Just try to stay calm."

"A little hard to do with this thing on my head. This is worse than the cone", I said in reference to Mumbo's previous threat. "Any chance your powers still work?"

"Mine are frozen, too", replied Raven in reference to the red ribbon that bound us together. Somehow it was blocking the use of our powers.

"Lovely", I said sarcastically. "What's going on out there?"

"Same thing as before. Robin and Cyborg are trying to either blast and/or punch Mumbo."

"That'll never work. He won't sit still long enough to be blasted, and as long as he's got his little magic tricks, physical might's useless against him."

"Don't give up. You'll come up with something. You always do", said Raven as the fingers of one of her hands, grasped at the fingers of one of my hands. Without question, I offered her my fingers. Our fingers then locked together, which was just the confidence boost I needed.

 _On second thought, this isn't so bad_ , I thought to myself as I enjoyed the fact that I was tied together with Raven, once again holding her hand, well sort of. My thoughts were interrupted upon hearing Raven suddenly gasp. "What? What's wrong?"

"Um, your paw's a little low there", said Raven. I began blushing immediately upon realizing what she was implying.

"Uh, my hands are up here", I said as I managed to barely touch her fingers with my other hand as well.

"Then why do I feel fur back there?"

"My apologies, Raven", said Starfire. "Ooof, Beast Boy. I ask that you please seize from the pushing." Beast Boy meowed in response as I felt him push back against her.

"Starfire? Beast Boy", I asked in disbelief.

"Were you expecting someone else", asked Starfire.

"I'm gonna be honest, Star, I actually kinda forgot about you guys", I responded honestly. "Ow", I exclaimed upon feeling someone's claws dig into my back. The mystery of who clawed me was solved upon hearing Beast Boy give off an awkward hissing noise as he began laughing.

"You guys think you can claw through the ribbon", asked Raven.

"We shall try."

"Good, because I have a plan", I said.

"Told you", said Raven in response.

"We are listening", said Starfire as I heard her and Beast Boy begin working on the ribbon.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do", I said just I began whispering my idea to the others. Once the ribbon was cut and Raven and I were free, she immediately escaped to the Shadow Zone with the two cats, waiting for her signal. As for me, I came to the realization that the only way to defeat Mumbo, was at his own game. That said, I pulled the tuba off of my head, and utilized my ability to multiply. "Double Team", I whispered to myself as I split into six individual Blindimons. I then handed one of my clones the tuba, and then picked up a stick off of the ground, pretending that I was about to conduct a choir. In response to this, the four tuba-less clones lined up shoulder-to-shoulder in front of me, waiting for my cue to initiate our part of the plan. "Let's show Dumbo some _real_ music", I said to myselves as I prepared to kick off our musical number. And since I also had the ability to imitate voices, I knew exactly what song I wanted us to sing.

Me: Are 'ya ready, Kids?

Clones: Aye aye, Captain!

Me: I can't hear you!

Clones: AYE AYE CAPTAIN!

ㇸ5Me: Oh,

Who's got a big nose and skin blue as the sea?

Clones: Mumbo Jumbo!

Me: Obnoxious and egotistical is he:

Clones: Mumbo Jumbo!

Me: If amateur magic be something you wish.

Clones: Mumbo Jumbo!

Me: With puns that stink more than a pile of dead fish.

Clones: Mumbo Jumbo!

All: Mumbo Jumbo! Mumbo Jumbo! Mumbo Jumbo!

Me: Mum-bo, Jum-boooooooooo!

(Tuba clone solo)ㇸ5

Once my little tune had ended, I turned around to see a furious Mumbo, steaming so hard that his blue face started to turn red due to him hearing the entire thing. I also noticed that I began my song at the perfect, as Robin and Cyborg were off to the side, hanging upside down from a light post by more of Mumbo's tied up handkerchiefs.

"So 'ya wanna play with the big boys do 'ya", asked Mumbo, most likely offended that I was basically challenging him to magical "troll-off". "Mumbo Jumbo", he said as he made a giant cannon appear in front of him. He then loaded it with a cannonball with his face painted on it and pointed it at me and my clone. "Fire in the hole", he shouted as he pulled the cord in the back, firing it. Me and my clones retreated to the Shadow Zone just before it made contact with us. The only thing his cannon destroyed was the tuba. "Oh, Wolfboy. Come out, come out wherever you are", called Mumbo as he looked around for me. After reabsorbing all of my clones, I rose up out of a shadow portal behind him, but did so so that I was standing on my knees. I then tugged on his cape to get his attention.

"Herro, Mistur", I said to him when he turned around and looked down at me, pretending to be a small child.

"And exactly who are you supposed to be?"

"They call me Shocky", I said as I gave my childish voice a bit of a British twist.

"Okay, I'll bite. Why do they call you that?"

"Shocky", I exclaimed in excitement as I Changed my hands into paws, charged my claws with my electricity, and then zapped Mumbo as I shanked him. The loony magician screamed for a moment, and then fell backwards onto his rear. While he was down there, I proceeded to imitate Spongebob's laugh as I rose to my feet and pointed at him. I then ended it by ending it with my impression of the Road Runner. "Beep beep", I said just before I teleported away from him, disappearing yet again.

"Grrr, you're really starting to bug me, Kid", said Mumbo as he picked himself up off of the ground. While I waited for him to get to his feet, I made a pit stop at a nearby convenience store and swiped me a pack of gum. I then stuck a few pieces into my mouth and began chewing it obnoxiously before teleporting back to him. For effectiveness, I pretended to be Officer Sweeney from the mall.

"Eh, what's up, Doc", I asked Mumbo as I floated in front of him upside down.

"Haha, very clever", said Mumbo sarcastically as he crossed his arms.

"I'd like to think so."

"You really think you can school me at my own game?"

"Sure I can school you. Let's start with physics", I said as I snapped my fingers. This resulted in me switching places with Mumbo, though I had to hold up Mumbo with my aura for a moment as he lacked the ability to levitate. "Lesson one: what goes up, stays up", I said just before releasing him. Mumbo then fell to the ground, landing on his head upon impact. He groaned in pain as he struggled to get up. "Eh, now that I think about it", I began, pausing to smack my gum for a moment before continuing, "I got an "F" in Physics", I continued as I hopped over him and began walking away.

"That's, it", said a weakened Mumbo as he rose to his feet. "Mumbo, Jumbo", he said as he fired his wand at his feet. Upon doing so, he made a steam engine appear out of thin air, with him as the train's conductor.

"I tawt I taw a Lewney Cat", I said to myself in Tweety Bird's voice. Mumbo responds by blowing the train's whistle as it began chugging towards me. "I did! I did! I did tee a Lewney Cat", I continued as I began running away. The train continued chugging after me. I then teleported ahead a bit, turning to face the train as it approached me. I then stomped my feet and assumed the battle stance of a sumo wrestler. "I'm, ready", I said to him, again in my Spongebob voice. Mumbo yells in irritation as the train speeds up even faster. The train chug closer and closer to me, until finally it crashes head-on into the invisible aura shield I set up a few inches in front of me. Upon crashing, the train then evaporates into thin air, leaving Mumbo wincing on the ground in his now torn up tuxedo. "Dawww, da poor Lewney Cat faw down", I said again in my Tweety voice. I then imitated Woody the Woodpecker's laugh before disappearing again.

"Come out here and fight me, you coward", demanded Mumbo in his torn clothing. "Did you honestly think, that you could strike me down? Did you honestly think that you were the master, here?" Upon hearing him say the word, "master", I found the opportunity to imitate one of my favorite cartoon characters, voiced by the late and great Robin Williams.

"That's right", I exclaimed as I teleported in front of him, startling him to the point where he fell backwards onto his rear again. "He can be taught", I said in reference to him. "What will you wish of me", I asked as I began floating off of the ground. "The ever impressive", I began in Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice as I sucked in my gut and began flexing, "the long contained", I continued as I pretended as my body began flashing purple, pretending that I was struggling to keep control of my powers, "often imitated", I said to him telepathically while moving one of my hands like a puppet, "but never duplicated", I continued as I began multiplying into several more Fernandos again, each of my clones repeating the word "duplicated" as they appeared in a circle around me, Wolfman of the Night (it was the only phrase I could think of to say in time with the original phrase, "Genie of the Lamp"). I then ended my whole sketch with a little twist as I pretended to be Elvis Presley. "Uh-huh, thank you, thank you very much", I said as I pointed to each of my clones as they applauded me. I was having _way_ too much fun pretending to be the genie, so much so that my fun came to an end when Mumbo, _extremely_ pissed at me at this point, created another of his giant gloves as if grabbed me and brought me to him. My clones disappeared upon my getting caught.

"Heh, I must admit, you really had me going there for a while", chuckled Mumbo, now confident that he had won. "But I survived all of your little magic tricks. It'll take more than one adolescent magician to outwit me."

"Well, then how about _two_ magicians", I asked him, finally returning to my normal voice. Before Raven, who had snuck up behind Mumbo while he was monologuing, even had a chance to cast a spell, another giant glove appeared and captured her as well. I wasn't worried, though, because her hood was down, so everything was going according to plan.

"Ha, nice try. However, you cannot overpower me either", said Mumbo as he once again got in Raven's face. For the sake of not distracting him, it took every once of strength I had to keep myself from growling at him. Having him lean in that close to Raven made me all kinds of uncomfortable, not to mention angry as Hell.

"Then it's a good thing that wasn't what I was trying to do", said Raven in response. Before Mumbo could think too far into her comment, out from her hood as it hung behind her, leapt out Starfire and Beast Boy, two ticked off kitties, rowling as they clung onto Mumbo's face. The blue-faced magician screamed hysterically as their teeth and claws dug into his skin.

"Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me!" This went on for a few minutes, until eventually Mumbo managed to grab both cats by their tails in one hand, and prepared his wand with the other as he pointed his wand at the two of them. "I think I just remembered why I _hate_ cats", said Mumbo as he prepared to cast his spell. He paused and turned behind him upon hearing the sound of metal being shifted. Behind him, a few feet away, was Cyborg, with his proton cannon locked onto Mumbo. "You know on second thought, I think I'll start with you", said Mumbo as he turned his attention to Cyborg as he pointed his wand at him. With him focussed completely on Cyborg, and his other hand preoccupied with Starfire and Beast Boy, Mumbo was totally unprepared for Robin's sneak attack as he swung down at Mumbo via his grappling hook, snatching away his wand as he passed him. "Hey", exclaimed Mumbo as he turned and watched Robin swinging away with his wand. Cyborg then seized his opportunity and fired his cannon, but aimed it at Mumbo's hat, which of course, blasted it right off of his head. Starfire then bites Mumbo's hand, freeing her and Beast Boy from his grip as they ran off with his hat in their teeth. Robin then lands behind Raven as he turns to face Mumbo, who gasped upon seeing Robin with his wand. "No", he exclaims as he grabs his head in fear. Robin, with a _big_ grin on his face, snaps the wand in half. "NO", screamed Mumbo as his youth and blue skin began to fade away, as well as his magic, leaving only behind a feeble, old man in their place.

"Nice shot", I said to Cyborg as the giant glove I was trapped in evaporated. It was at that moment that the magic that turned Starfire and Beast Boy into cats also wore off as they returned to their "human" forms.

"Glorious", exclaimed a happy Starfire as he examined her face with her hands. "I am me. And you are you", she said to Beast Boy, who then took a moment to morph back and forth between his cat and human forms to make sure that he was back to normal.

"Aw, yeah! Beast Boy is back", he said in victory. "And more importantly, I can talk again."

"Any chance we can fix the wand", asked Raven sarcastically as her giant glove evaporated. Beast Boy responded with his EAC face.

"Looks like the team's back to normal", said Robin.

"We were normal", asked Cyborg jokingly.

"Good question", I added. The six of us chuckled at our joke for a moment, before Raven spoke out.

"Um, aren't we forgetting something?" We then turned to see Mumbo, now an ordinary man, trying to sneak away. When he sensed that he was being watched, he paused and slowly looked behind him. The six of us all stood there for a moment in disbelief that he was actually trying to escape. Mumbo then panicked and made a run for it.

"I got him", I said as I ran after him. I then utilized my new shoulder strap as I ripped it off of my uniform and cracked it at Mumbo's feet, wrapping it around one of his ankles in the process. I then gave the whip a sharp tug as Mumbo fell to the ground.

"Nice moves, Indie", said Cyborg as he high-fived me. He then stomps over to Mumbo, accompanied by Beast Boy and Starfire, and picks him up by the back of his shirt. He then turns him around to glare into his eyes. It was pretty clear that Cyborg was pissed.

"Hehe, why the long face", asked a nervous Mumbo. "It was only a few jokes. You know I was just kidding, right?" Mumbo then turns to his left to see Starfire as her eyes burned green, as did her fists as she gritted her teeth at Mumbo. He then turns to his right, to see Beast Boy, now a bear, roaring in his face. They, too, were pissed at Mumbo, not that I blamed them. "Wait, Robin", called Mumbo in desperation. "I thought you didn't believe in petty violence."

"Hey, Guys, check out those clouds up there", said Robin as he turns his back to Mumbo and pretends to look up at the clouds. He was clearly ignoring him. The alien, cyborg, and bear all grinned in delight upon taking notice of Robin's gesture. Raven and I, also understanding Robin's gesture, turned our backs to Mumbo as we, too, pretended to watch the clouds.

"That one over there looks like a fish", I said as I pointed to a random cloud.

"And there's a flower right there", added Robin. "What do you see, Raven?"

"I don't know, a bunny I guess", said Raven with a shrug. I found it kinda cute that she wasn't willing to surrender her monotoned vibe in order to say the word "bunny" with some enthusiasm.

"We'll be right back", said Cyborg as he began to walk away with Mumbo still in his grip. Beast Boy and Starfire followed right behind him. I looked behind me for a brief moment to see the three of them take Mumbo into an alleyway between a couple of buildings.

"Please don't", begged Mumbo. "It was only a joke", he exclaimed again before disappearing into the alley with the others. What followed was the sound of Mumbo screaming and grunting, accompanied by the sounds of fists and claws.

"Ah, music to my ears", said Raven.

"Nice work out there today", said Robin to me as we fist bumped each other.

"Thanks." It had been a while since I had won a difficult battle such as that one, and in doing so, I got a _little_ closer to Raven in the process. It was a good day to be me at that moment in time. "So, uh, how long until we take the old geezer to jail?"

"Eh, let's give 'em a few minutes", suggested Raven.

"I'm sorry, did you say something", asked Robin sarcastically. The three of us laughed once again, content with the knowledge that Mumbo was getting his just desserts.


	16. Silly Songs

After our victory over Mumbo, the Titans and I returned to Titans Tower. There, we celebrated by spending all of the following day goofing off with table-top games, including some weird one involving cards like "Fire", "Wood", "Tornado", and some super card simply called "Meteor". We then spent the evening staying up late, eating junk food, and watching movies.

"Awesome", said Beast Boy as he leapt off of the couch to pop out the DVD from the t.v.. We had just finished watching "Army of Darkness", which was arguably one of the dumbest movies I ever had to sit through. "So, what do you guys wanna watch next?"

"Another one", groaned Cyborg. "That's like our third flick in a row."

"Correction, that was our fourth", said Starfire.

"Really? There was that last one, "Jungle 2 Jungle", and we started off with "Dumb and Dumber"", said Cyborg as he counted off the movies on his fingers.

"True, but you slept through "Signs"", added Raven.

"Ew, the Shyamalan film?"

"That's what we get for letting Beast Boy pick the movie four times in a row", I said as I was stretched across the couch next to ran in my wolf form.

"Hey, I like those movies", said Beast Boy defensively. "Now, what's next", he asks us as he holds up two more movies. "Do you guys wanna watch "Shallow Hal", or "Napoleon Dynamite"?"

"Pass", said Raven, Cyborg, and I at the same time.

"It'll have to wait, Beast Boy", said Robin. "It's almost midnight."

"Oh yeah, let's go", said Beast Boy as he jumps over the couch and heads for the exit.

"We'll be right back", said Cyborg as he and Robin ran after him. Raven also left the room as she sunk into a shadow portal underneath her, leaving me alone with Starfire.

"Um, Wolfman", said Starfire somewhat nervously. Upon hearing her tone of voice I Changed back into my human form and sat up straight. "I believe I owe you a-pology", she said with some difficulty. For some reason she struggled with the word "apology".

"What for?"

"Though I am still upset about my dearest sister, I realize that it was wrong of me to blame you for her actions. I also see that I was wrong about you as well. It is through my friends that I see that you are not the evil one that I made you out to be so long ago. Despite your darkness, your heart is kind, much like my Robin." I couldn't help but smile upon hearing her kind words.

"Truce", I asked her as I offered her my hand, though I Changed it into a paw, much like how I did with Cyborg and then Robin.

"A truce", she replied as she grasped my hand and shook it. Her face lit as she giggled in response.

"Glad that's over", I said in reference to our feud.

"Oh, Wolfman", sang Beast Boy from behind us. Robin and Cyborg stood at his sides. All three of them had their arms behind their backs and grins on their faces. "Do you have any idea what today is?"

"Uh, Saturday", I guessed in reference to the fact that Robin had mentioned a few minutes ago that it was close to midnight.

"Actually", began Cyborg as he looks at a clock on one of his arms, "it'll be Saturday in 3, 2, 1, boo-yah!"

"What? What's going on?"

"It's officially been one week since you've joined the Teen Titans", said Robin as he stepped forward. "Which means now, you have to be initiated", he continued as he held up the rubber chicken he held behind his back.

"Initiated", I asked him with my head cocked to the side and my eyebrow raised. Starfire giggled, apparently having knowledge of what was coming. It was at that moment that I noticed that Cyborg and Beast Boy had items hidden behind their backs as well. Cyborg had a tutu behind his back, and Beast Boy held a pink female wig. Upon revealing their items, their two grins doubled in size. "You're out of your fucking minds", I exclaimed upon realizing that they expected me to wear that shit.

"Ah, but you must", teased Starfire as she floated behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. The guys all took a few steps towards me, with mischievous looks on their faces.

"Oh, no I don't", I said as I shoved Starfire away from me and leapt over the couch in my wolf form as I attempted to make a break for the exit. To my dismay, something grabbed me from out of the air. It was that same giant hand made of dark energy that appeared that day I first met Raven. Once it had me in its grasp, it forced me back into my human form. Raven then reveals that she was waiting in the Shadow Zone the entire time as she rises up out of another shadow portal, probably because she knew I'd tried to run. "You, too", I asked her. Raven simply responded with a smile and a wink as the giant hand pinned me to the floor. The guys took immediate advantage of this as they tackled me. "Get off of me! I said I'm not doing this! Let me go! Cut it out", I shouted in protest. Eventually I managed to get to my feet once they finally released me.

"Lookin' good, Wolfgirl", teased Beast Boy with a snicker.

"What did you just call me", I asked with a growl. Cyborg responded with a wolf whistle as he and the other Titans continued laughing at me. I then looked down and discovered what they were laughing at. "AH", I screamed upon realizing that I was wearing the tutu over my uniform. As I looked down, some pink hair fell in front of my face, revealing that I was also wearing the wig, which got me to scream again. The others cracked up completely in response to my reaction.

"You might wanna take this", said Robin as he stepped forward and offered me the rubber chicken.

"Come anywhere near me with that thing, and it's going right up your—", I began with a snarl.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa", said Cyborg as he cut me off, though he was still laughing a little as he did so. "There's no need for any of that. Once the initiation is over, you can take that stuff off."

"Well, tough, because that ain't gonna happen", I growled at him.

"But, Sir, initiations such as these are essential to any team building", said Geoffrey as he floated by.

"You stay out of this", I yelled at him. "And stop laughing at me", I yelled at the other Titans.

"They cannot help it, Sir. It is difficult for them to take you seriously in that outfit."

"Not helping, Geoffrey!"

"What's the matter, Wolfman", asked Robin.

"Yeah, you chicken", teased Cyborg. Beast Boy then dropped to the ground, which I assumed meant he was about to morph. I growled down at him upon anticipating which animal he was about to morph into. Considering he liked to make puns and jokes out of everything, and based on Cyborg's comment, I had a strong feeling I knew what his choice of animal was.

"Whoops, my bad", he said with a nervous grin as he rose back up to his feet. I noticed Raven smile at me a little upon remembering her allergy. Seeing her smile got me to calm down a little.

"Ugh, what do I have to do", I asked as I rolled my eyes.

"You've got three options", said Robin.

"I'm listening, hesitantly", I responded.

"One:", began Robin, "you have to take the chicken with you into your next battle", he said as he held it up to me again. I then snatched it from him and ripped off its head, throwing both pieces onto the floor afterwards.

"No, next."

"Two: you have to wear that tutu into battle", said Cyborg.

"That's a _Hell_ no."

"Or three:", began Beast Boy, "karaoke", said Beast Boy as he pretended to play the air guitar.

"Oh, great", I grumbled.

"If I may make a suggestion, Sir", said Geoffrey as he initiated the activation of something. I then turned to see that the sofa was disappearing into the floor again, just like it did that morning we had Chinese for breakfast. After a few moments of machinery shifting underneath the floor, up rose two metal dance pads (those things you dance on top of for "Dance Dance Revolution" or "DDR").

"What, are, those", I asked as if I didn't already know.

"I honestly forgot that we even had those", said Robin.

"Robin hardly ever let's us use these, so I figured now was as good a time as any", said Cyborg. "Thanks, G."

"My pleasure, Master Cyborg", said Geoffrey. I knew where Geoffrey was going with his little stunt. As I had mentioned to Cyborg before, I was once an aspiring musician when I was younger, like much, much younger.

Back in my elementary and middle school days, I used to have little concerts with the other Elementals and perform in front of audiences ranging anywhere from classmates, teachers, parents, and random citizens that happened to be fans of us. After all, it was through music that I first became friends with Adryen and Ryan, and this was all years before we discovered that the three of us were all Elementals. Add that to the fact that all six of us shared the ability to imitate voices, and we were capable of singing and/or playing pretty much any song we wanted.

However, that all died when I turned twelve and my family moved to South Dakota. Since then I haven't performed since, with the only exceptions being school band concerts, and I very rarely sung out loud anywhere other than the shower. That all said, I was nervous as Hell at the idea of my first audience attended performance in nearly ten years being in front of the Titans, among which included Raven.

 _I guess I have no choice_ , I thought to myself as I knew that singing was a million times better than being seen in public with either a rubber chicken, or even worse, in a tutu. "Ugh, I'll do one song", I said in defeat. The others began clapping upon realizing that they succeeded into peer pressuring me.

"But you still have to wear the wig and tutu while you do it", said Beast Boy.

"Of course I do", I said sarcastically. "Go and get the disc", I said to Geoffrey.

"Already done, Sir", said Geoffrey as he headed over to the t.v. to pop it in. After all this time, he still knew me so well. Then made my way over to the dance pad on the left.

"You know dancing is optional, right", asked Robin.

"Yes, I'm aware." The truth of the matter was that my nerves were through the roof, so my hope was that dancing as I sung would force me to focus on something other than my audience. Geoffrey knew this, which was why he was prepared with the disc. Despite his scheming with Cyborg, it was nice to know that he was still looking out for me. It was then that the t.v. screen turned on revealing the opening screen for the PS1 game, "The Jungle Book: Rhythm N' Groove".

Basically the game was basically your standard DDR game, except this one had a Story Mode to it as you played and danced through Disney's version of "The Jungle Book". There were nine levels and nine songs, making the game incredibly easy to play through as it takes less than an hour, and that's if you didn't skip through all of the video transitions in between songs. That said, it wasn't the gameplay that made this a fun and memorable video game from my childhood, though most people these days have never heard of the game, but rather the songs themselves. Of the nine songs that the game featured, only two of them were from the film it was based on, "The Bare Necessities", and "I Wanna Be Like You", leaving the player with seven original songs that were so damn catchy that it was a shame that they were exclusive only to the game and nowhere else.

"Boo-yah! I love this game", said Cyborg as he ran up and claimed the second dance pad. "Count me in, Wolfgirl."

"Don't push it", I warned him.

"Your selection, Sir", asked Geoffrey. It was then that I had an idea, as I was feeling ballsy at this point.

"Let's teach Cyborg how to be a werewolf. I choose song number four."

"Am I to understand that you wish for a lyric rewrite, Sir?"

"Naturally. Be ready to record my chorus in the first Lesson (each song was divided into three parts), so that it can be echoed in the other two." In addition to being able to imitate voices, as a young pup, I would sometimes take a song I enjoyed, and then rewrite the lyrics to fit certain situations.

For instance, a few after me, Adryen, and Ryan first met, we entered a school talent show in the fifth grade. Using a piano as our only instrument, the three of us reenacted the "Elmo's Song" triplet we sang on the day we all met, changing the lyrics to say, "Wolfman", "Tigre", and "C-Bear" instead of "Elmo", "Big Bird", and "Snuffy" respectively (despite him being caucasian, Ryan grew up learning to speak Spanish in addition to English. As for Adryen, his middle name was Carlton, so he sometimes went by the nickname C-Bear, in reference to the late 90s cartoon).

That all said, the song I had chosen for my initiation was called, "Go Bananas in the Coconut Tree", a song whose lyrics were written around the idea of the monkeys from the video game teaching Mowgli how to be a monkey, so I was planning to rewrite the lyrics to teach how to be a werewolf. In addition, I was initially asking Geoffrey, who was equipped with a system that allowed him to mute the singing voices of the monkeys in the video game, leaving only the instrumental background music in its place, to record the chorus I was about to make up. Once he did, he would multiply it, and then alter the copies so that he would play it back to us as I sang the chorus again later on, creating the illusion that more than one person was singing the chorus. Yeah, Geoffrey was a badass.

"Very good, Sir", said Geoffrey upon receiving his instructions. After the screen set itself to Versus Mode, the next screen had a choose a character to represent us as they danced to the song. Each character had his/her own unique dance style that was compatible with any of the nine song choices, with the only exception being Mowgli, who merely mirrored the dance moves of whoever he danced with. As a panther myself, I had a particular bias towards Bagheera, so I chose him as my character. Cyborg took the boring route and chose Mowgli as his, and with that, we were ready to begin.

"So, what's all this about recording and echoes", asked Cyborg as the screen began to load.

"You'll see", I said to him as I prepared for our dance fight (though it wasn't going to be much of one as there were only four panels our feet could step on, the one flaw in DDR games). _Enjoy the show_ , I said to Raven telepathically as I looked back at her. By that point, the screen had finished loading, and the intro music began playing. I took a deep breath as the announcer began to kick things off.

"Bagheera, versus, Mowgli", said the announcer as my cue was drawing nearer and nearer. "Okay, Everybody, let's dance!" It was now time for me to sing, and I sang in the voice of the monkey from the video game, who I think in turn was voiced by Jess Harnell.

ㇸ5Hey there, Metal Man Cub

Now let's see if you are cool

'Cause in that department,

We ly-can-thropes rule

We don't waste no time

With our head up in the clouds

We're down on the ground

Just runnin' around

Now you human-types

Y'all kinda frail

When y'all take this test,

Most of 'ya fail

Can you hang with us?

Or will you fall on your back?

Let's see how well you can run

With the Pack!

Chorus:

'Cause we got all the rhythms

And we sure know how to swing 'em

And we sure know how to have ourselves a good time

Now if you've got the groove

You can join the fun and move

And be a primate who is truly canineㇸ5

(instrumental transition)

The other Titans applauded a little during the transition in response to my song. The fact that they found my singing both enjoyable and impressive considering I made up my own lyrics on the spot, gave me the confidence boost I needed to continue on. Raven in particular had my energy levels going, as it was now about showing off and strutting in front of her, instead of merely trying to rush through the initiation. Don't get me wrong, I still couldn't wait to ditch my stupid getup.

"Uh-oh, Wolfman's got some pipes", said Cyborg jokingly.

"Well I'm glad you liked it, Cyborg, because I'm not done yet. Here comes Lesson Two."

ㇸ5Okay, Metal Man Cub

I admit you're pretty good

You're doing much better

Than I thought you would

So if you want some more

'Cause you didn't get enough,

Let us jump ahead

To the serious stuff

It's time to pull out all

The stops and prove

That you can get wild

With the werewolf moves

Claw moves, bite moves

Bark and growl

Throw yo' back and head back

And let out a hooooooooowl

Chorus:

'Cause we got all the rhythms

And we sure know how to swing 'em

And we sure know how to have ourselves a good time

Now if you've got the groove

You can join the fun and move

And be a primate who is truly canineㇸ5

(instrumental transition)

"Oh, so that's what you meant by "echo"", said Cyborg in reference to Geoffrey's assistance with the second lesson.

"We're not done yet. Remember, there's still one more", I responded to him.

(electric guitar solo)

ㇸ5Hustle up, Man Cub

'Cause this ain't but a jog

You've gotta really push

If you wanna be Top Dog

You really gotta feel that

Ly-can-thro-py

If you wanna be like me

Chorus:

'Cause we got all the rhythms

And we sure know how to swing 'em

And we sure know how to have ourselves a good time

Now if you've got the groove

You can join the fun and move

And be a primate who is truly canine

A primate who is truly canineㇸ5

"Bagheera is the winner", said the announcer as the song ended. The four Titans that spectated applauded again.

"Glorious!"

"Nicely done."

"Duuuude!"

 _I_ very _much enjoyed that_ , said Raven to me telepathically. I blushed a little upon hearing her say that.

"Nice game", said Cyborg as he offered me his hand.

"Likewise", I said as I grasped his hand and shook it.

"Man, that was nothing", said Beast Boy as he claimed Cyborg's panel. "Even Raven can out-dance Cyborg." Raven responded by giving him a telepathic wedgie, which instantly broke a smile to her face as he yelped. "Are you up for a rematch", he asked me in a higher-pitched voice as he covered his crotch and fell to his knees.

"Before we begin, can I take this stupid shit off now? Or are there going to be other "tests" I have to go through before I'm official?"

"Okay, okay, you've made your point", said Robin. "You can take 'em off."

"Good", I said just before I Changed into a wolf and began tearing the wig and tutu to shreds with my teeth. The other Titans all laughed at my enthusiasm. "Okay, let's go", I said to Beast Boy. "I've got all the vocals for this one, Geoffrey", I said as I selected the eighth song in the game, which was a villain song sung by Tony Jay as Shere Khan simply titled "Run". It was then time for us to pick our characters again. Guided by my bias again, I chose to be Baloo, while Beast Boy chose King Louie. The announcer kicked things off once again, as I prepared to mimic Jay's voice with another lyric rewrite. The song's intro included a lot of trumpets, as it transitioned to the aggressive use of drums immediately afterwards.

"Baloo, versus, King Louie. Okay, Everybody, let's dance!"

ㇸ5Do you realize who you're facing?

Do you not know who I am?

Well prepare to meet,

Your defeat

In the paws of the Wolfman

To stand against me,

Is a fight you cannot win

But since you are so anxious,

Then let our dance begin

The, best, of, luck, Beast Boy,

For there's, no, tur-ning back

Now dance!

(instrumental transition)

Chorus:

Dance!

Step up like a man!

Dance, Fool! Dance!

Dance me if you can!

Your moves are rather lame

And for a beast, you're quite tame

If that's your best,

Then I'd suggest

That you step up your game

This is your last chance,

To get a flame under your pants

For we're nearly at the third act

Of this three-act dance

You'd, best, dig, deep, my friend

For, we, are, near, the end

Dance!

(instrumental transition)

Chorus:

Dance!

Step up like a man!

Dance, Fool! Dance!

Dance me if you can!

(instrumental ending)ㇸ5

"Baloo is the winner", said the announcer at the end. Beast Boy let out his signature shriek in response, as he was certain that he had this match won.

"Sorry, Broseph", I said to Beast Boy with a shrug. "I'm gonna sit out a few rounds. Who's up next?"

"Oooh, ooh! Me please", exclaimed an excited Starfire as she waved her hand in the air like an elementary school child. She then flies up to take my place as she and Beast Boy prepared the next round. After that there was a matchup of Cyborg versus Starfire, then Cyborg versus Beast Boy, and then Starfire dragged Robin up to the game with her, which was kinda funny to watch.

"Great. Well that happened", said Robin awkwardly as he just finished getting his ass kicked by Starfire.

"Does anyone else wish to battle by way of dance", asked Starfire.

"I nominate Raven", said Cyborg as he pretended to cough.

"Yeah, no", said Raven as she shot a glare at Cyborg. Beast Boy then led the other Titans in a chant as they all repeated, "Ra-ven, Ra-ven, Ra-ven". In response to this, Raven pulls her hood over her head and then pulls down on it, as if she was trying to block the sound from her ears like she was holding a pillow over her head.

 _I will if you will_ , I said to her telepathically. I then cloaked her body with my aura, which got her to close her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath.

"Alright, fine", said a reluctant Raven in her monotoned voice. The other Titans cheered upon their success at getting Raven to dance.

"Wow, Raven actually dancing", asked Beast Boy. "We should be recording this." Raven immediately scared the idea out of his little green head as her eyes turned red and her teeth sharpened, all topped off with a demonic hiss. "Hehe, never mind", said a now nervous Beast Boy. I chuckled a little upon seeing Raven frighten him, which got Raven's attention as her face lit up a little. The two of us then made our way to the dance pads. I let Raven have the first one.

"Another rewrite, Sir", asked Geoffrey.

"That won't be necessary this time. Just mute the vocals again."

"Right away, Sir." Raven and I then chose our characters. Naturally Raven chose to dance as Shanti, as she was the only female character to choose from. I was originally planning to be bias again and choose Kaa, but upon seeing Raven choose Shanti, I instinctively chose Mowgli as my character. The song I had chosen for us to dance to was the ninth song, "A Brand New Day".

This time I had no interest in rewriting the lyrics. Part of the reason was that I had no ideas to go off of for doing so. Another reason was because even if I could find some new lyrics to sing, the last two rewrites I did were kind of like disses. The first one was kinda like I was egging Cyborg on, and I spent the entirety of the second one trash talking Beast Boy. That said, I dared not risk that with Raven, not only because she was my crush, but like me with the first song, she was nervous enough already.

Instead, I was planning to sing with my own voice, my _real_ singing voice, though I hardly ever used it, and it completely contradicts my speaking voice. Not that my voice was _super_ high-pitched, but it was at a high enough pitch to where there had been several times during my days as a cashier in Anchorage where I would answer telephone calls, and the person on the other end would assume that I was a woman. My singing voice on the other hand, was _much_ deeper with a shit-ton of bass in it. If you wanted to get an idea on how my voice sounded when I sang, then I'd suggest that you watch an episode of "Family Guy". It doesn't matter which episode you chose to watch, as long as it had Jerome in it, who is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. Now picture that deep ass voice singing, and that'll give you a rough idea on how I sounded. It's trippy, I know.

"This is pointless", muttered Raven to herself. Despite her comment, I knew that wasn't her _true_ concern at the moment.

"Trust me, you'll do just fine", I said to her. Though she wasn't aware, I still had a good memory of when we danced together in that dream. I didn't realize it before, but I was starting to get the feeling that my dreams were all connected to future events.

It happened first when the woman in white told me that she and I would meet again, which resulted in her very voice haunting my thoughts as she influenced people and events around me. It happened again during that same dream when my dance with Raven came to a halt upon the arrival of a giant moth, which separated me from Raven and the other Titans. A little over 24 hours later after waking up from that dream, I was cast out by the Titans due to the death of Daniels and his two goons, which resulted in me being recruited by Killer Moth.

These events were all _too_ convenient to be mere coincidences, which is why I was anxious to enjoy what little time I had left with Raven, for if the events of one dream came true, then it stands to reason that the same result came occur from my nightmares, namely the two I recently had featuring the demonic voice. It was also noteworthy to keep in mind that the woman in white, Kendall, Asia, Adryen, Taiyo, and Raven were also present in the second nightmare, which again, is _way_ too convenient to be a coincidence given the events that came before. However, I couldn't focus on any of that at the moment.

"Shanti, versus, Mowgli", said the announcer as the song's intro began playing, immediately pulling my attention away from my inner thoughts. "Okay, Everybody, let's dance!"

ㇸ5The sun is shining above the trees

Waterfalls are singing

The birds are whispering behind the leaves

All nature's bells are ringing

It's a perfect time to let the river flow,

And slowly see what life is bringing

It's a perfect time to let your worries go,

And start a new beginning

Chorus:

Open up your eyes,

Stretch your arms out wide,

And let your heart, set you free

Set your sights up high,

In the jungle sky,

It's a brand new day, for you and meㇸ5

(instrumental transition)

I remember the look Raven gave me upon hearing my _real_ singing voice. I remember the way her eyes lit up as she looked at me in a way that she hadn't before, and how I felt special to be the one to get that look from her. It was also during this moment that I could sense her heartbeat again, but something mysterious happened. Up until that moment, whenever I heard her heartbeat, it would stagger my heart, creating a constant pounding noise as our hearts raced one another. However, this time, they beat at the same time, creating one, large, unified sound and the two beat in perfect synchronization.

 _That was beautiful_ , said Raven to me telepathically. _Keep going_. Our song then continued.

ㇸ5The bees are buzzing as they ride the breeze,

And gently dive into the flowers

The flowers reach up high to touch the trees,

And feel the sunlight's quiet power

It's a perfect time to make your dreams come true,

And become all you want to be

It's a perfect time, to see your wishes through,

And sing in perfect harmony

Chorus:

Open up your eyes,

Stretch your arms out wide,

And let your heart, set you free

Set your sights up high,

In the jungle sky,

It's a brand new day, for you and me

(instrumental transition)

Beyond the village gates,

A whole new life awaits

A whole new way to see,

A whole new way to be

It's time to understand,

Your place here in the land

It's time to feel the sun,

And really have some fun

Chorus:

Open up your eyes,

Stretch your arms out wide,

And let your heart, set you free

Set your sights up high,

In the jungle sky,

It's a brand new day, for you and me

Open up your eyes,

Stretch your arms out wide,

And let your heart, set you free

Set your sights up high,

In the jungle sky,

It's a brand new day, for you and me

It's a brand new day, for you and meㇸ5

"Draw", said the announcer as he revealed our final scores at the end. Raven and I got the _exact_ same score, a true testament to how in-sync we were.

"Awesome", said Beast Boy as he and the other Titans applauded. Raven's face began to blush again in response.

"Can I get down now", she asks in her monotone, though I noticed it breaking slightly as it seemed she had to struggle to keep her monotone.

"Oooh, oooh! May I go again then, please", asked Starfire, once again excited to dance.

"Knock yourself out", said Raven as she floated back over to the others. I looked back at Raven for a moment as Starfire set up the next round. Under her hood, when the others weren't looking, she snuck another smile, though this time it wasn't directly pointed at me, she was just smiling. Though she didn't want anyone to see, she was happy, and wasn't in any way trying to deny it. Seeing her happy, made me happy, so much so that I completely forgot that I was about to dance against Starfire as she continued to set up the game while I was off in Lala Land. It wasn't until the announcer spoke again that I realized that the game was starting.

"Junior, versus, Mowgli", said the announcer as the intro to "Bare Necessities" began playing.

 _Oh shit_ , I thought to myself as I snapped myself forward again just in time to catch the first verse. The Titans and I continued playing the dance game _long_ after Raven and I danced together, with the exceptions of Robin and Raven herself, who were both content with having danced once and only once as they happily watched us from the sidelines. With all that had been going on as of late, and all of the battles that were soon coming my way, it was nice to have a fun night of acting silly and weird with my friends. However, nothing about that perfect night compared to how it felt to _really_ dance with Raven. I remembered thinking to myself about how much I wanted to have a _real_ slow dance with her as well as I recalled the "Beauty and the Beast" I had that previous night. _Perhaps another day_ , I thought to myself as I made my wish in my head.


	17. Battle on the Bridge

"Happy Me Day", said Beast Boy with his arms spread wide as he enters the Ops Room. He was the fourth Titan to awaken for breakfast, as Starfire and I patiently waited at the kitchen counter for Robin to finish whatever it was he was cooking. My only clue was that it was something that once had feathers, as the smell of cooked fowl teased my highly sensitive nose, as well as my empty stomach.

"No it is not", said a slightly confused Starfire. "Today is the day of St. Patrick, a celebration of the color green."

"I think that's what he meant, Star", I said to her.

"Oh", said Starfire having now understood the joke.

"Are we all set for today, or should I let the pinching begin", asked Beast Boy just before he turned into a crab.

"Yo, Robin! Is anybody here allergic to crab", I asked him as he checked the oven. He and Starfire began laughing at my joke.

"Nice one, Wolfman", said Robin as he stood back up after checking on the meal.

"Hardy har har", said Beast Boy as he morphed back to his human form before immediately moving the conversation along. "Seriously though, are you guys greened out?"

"Way ahead of you", I said as I Changed one of my human hands into a paw and pawed at the four-leaf clover-shaped dog tag that hung from my new green collar. We all had gone shopping the day before, so I was more than prepared.

"I also am prepared", said Starfire as she picks up the green wig she had sitting on the counter in front of her. She then proceeds to put it onto her head.

"And I'm always wearing green", said Robin as he pulls off one of his oven mitts, revealing his green glove underneath.

"Sweet, now I have one more question."

"Raven and Cyborg are still in their rooms", I said before he had the chance to ask his question.

"Stop doing that", asked Beast Boy in reference to my ability to read his thoughts. I responded by pulling down one of my eyelids as I flicked my serpent tongue at him. He responded with his EAC face. "Geez, between you and Raven, you guys are total—."

"Total what", interrupted Raven as she had snuck up behind Beast Boy as he was ranting. He responded with a shriek.

"Morning, Raven", said Robin, as he once again checked on breakfast.

"Love the new look", I said to her in reference to her attire. Instead of her usual black leotard with a blue cloak, she instead wore a white leotard and a green cloak.

"Oh, yes. Quite lovely", said Starfire as she rotated her wrist while pointing downward with one finger, urging Raven to spin around. Raven hesitated for a moment in response.

 _Oh, just humor her_ , I said to her telepathically as I took a sip from my coffee mug. Raven then, in an unenthusiastic fashion, holds up her arms and spins around slowly. Once she had finished spinning, Starfire gave her a little applause. In addition, I added a small wolf howl, as I couldn't do what I had wanted to do. Fortunately, Raven understood what I was trying to signify with my howl and grinned at me.

"Was that supposed to be a wolf whistle", asked Beast Boy. Apparently he also caught on to my gesture.

"May-be", I said awkwardly just before I took another sip from my mug.

"Why a howl and not a whistle", asked Robin.

"'Cause I can't", I whispered as I shielded my mouth with the mug.

"What", asked Robin.

"It's 'cause I can't", I said a little louder through the mug.

"Forgive us, Wolfman, but we are unable to hear you. Perhaps if you put down the pug", said Starfire, clueless to the fact that I was trying to avoid revealing my reason.

"The word is "mug", Starfire", said Raven. " _That's_ a pug", she continues as she points at Beast Boy, who had already morphed into a pug in preparation.

"Seriously though", began Beast Boy as he returned to his human form, "what's the deal?"

"Ugh", I groaned just before answering him. "I don't know how to whistle", I said with irritation. Beast Boy responded with some snickering.

"How curious", said Starfire.

"Wait so you can't—", asked Robin just before he began whistling a tune. He pointed to his mouth as he did so. I shook my head in response. In addition to being able to only wink one eye, not knowing how to whistle was one of those everyday things that humans took for granted, and that I was embarrassed to admit to people.

"Hold up", began a still snickering Beast Boy, "you can imitate voices and sounds, except for whistling?"

"You find that funny, do you", I asked him.

"A little bit. Looks like your imitations aren't as spot on as you think", he teased.

"Oh, is that so", I asked having accepted his challenge. I then rose out of my seat and walked towards the center of the walkway. "What's up, Dudes", I asked the Titans as I imitated Beast Boy's voice. "My name is Beast Boy, and I have green skin due to my diet consisting of nothing but veggies", I said as I pranced around the room in a silly fashion. This got a giggle out of the other Titans.

"I don't talk like that", retorted Beast Boy.

"I don't know, B. That sounded pretty solid to me", said Cyborg as he entered the room.

"Looks like somebody slept in", said Raven as she grabbed a seat on one of the stools by the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, you're usually the first to wake up", said Robin as he slipped his oven mitts back on.

"Yeah, but I had to get my systems upgraded for St. Patrick's Day."

"What upgrade", I asked him. Cyborg then pushed a button on his arm. Once that happened, the circuits and machinery that can be seen in his limbs and the left half of his head changed from their normal blue color to green.

"Oooooooh", said Beast Boy and Starfire.

"Nice", I added. It was at that moment the oven's timer dinged.

"Finally", said Robin as he pulled out breakfast, which was revealed to be four cornish game hens, a cooked duck, and some weird rubbery looking thing that was shaped like the hens were.

"Um, what the heck is that", asked Cyborg.

"It's a tofu chicken", said Beast Boy defensively as he grabbed the plate his hen was on.

"Of course it is", said Raven sarcastically.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with eating healthy. Besides, tofu is good. Even the Wolfman will eat it", he said as he held the plate up to my face. I Changed into my wolf form for a moment for the purposes of being thorough. I then sniffed the fake meat, which gave off a doughy scent, kinda like uncooked pastry dough. I then took one of my claws and poked it, and the "bird" giggled like jello.

"I think I'll pass", I said as I Changed back into my human form. I then walked over towards Robin and assisted him with passing out the birds to everyone. I immediately went for the duck first, as I knew that it was Raven's bird, and I was determined to be the one to hand it to her.

"Thanks", she said to me as I handed her the duck. We had all moved back to the booth tables at this point.

"You're very welcome." I then made my way back to Robin to receive my bird.

"Mmmm-mmmm", said Cyborg right after obnoxiously taking in a huge inhale. "Just needs a bit of CyBQ sauce", he continued as he pulled a red bottle and began pouring its contents onto his chicken.

"The Hell is CyBQ sauce", I asked.

"One of Cyborg's "get rich quick" schemes", said Robin as he took his seat next to Starfire. The two of them sat in the same spots as that morning Raven made pancakes. Upon seeing that, I remembered that the other table could only seat three people, meaning that one of the four remaining Titans would be without a seat. Since Raven and Cyborg had already claimed their seats, that meant it was down to either me or Beast Boy.

"As if he needs another source of income", I said sarcastically as I lowered myself to the floor, placing my plate down in front of me as I did so, as I had nonverbally volunteered to give up my seat.

"I could always pull up a chair if you need", offered Cyborg.

"Naw, I needed this anyway."

"Needed what", asked Starfire.

"To go off-leash", said Beast Boy as he also lowered himself to the floor next to me. "Every so often he's gotta get wild and crazy. We are animals after all", he continued with a cheeky grin as he leaned towards me and wrapped his arm around me. I had no response to this, despite his silliness, because truthfully Beast Boy was right.

As a werewolf, there were times where I didn't want to be civilized and domesticated. Sometimes I just liked to remind myself that I was part animal by sinking my teeth into something, and since the likeliness of me hunting had decreased significantly since becoming a Titan, I was just going to have to settle for tearing into the cooked hen in front of me as if it were a kill.

"I guess that makes sense", said Raven.

"BB? Making sense? Feels weird", said Cyborg jokingly.

"Ha-ha-ha", mocked Beast Boy, "laugh all you want. Now, if you'll excuse me….", he continued as he leaned back over his weird tofu thing on his plate. He then morphed into a wolf and began tearing into it immediately, snarling and growling as he devoured his meal. I chuckled at him for a moment, amused at how Beast Boy understood what being an animal was like just as much as I did, and then followed his lead as I also went canine and tore into my meal as well.

"Cute", began Starfire with a giggle as she placed Silkie's food bowl onto the floor next to me and Beast Boy. The pink grub then made his way over to join us for breakfast. "It is like feeding time at the museum of animals."

 _Almost, Starfire. Almost_ , I thought to myself in reference to her rendition of the word "zoo".

"That's a new definition of "cute"", said Cyborg sarcastically as he began eating his meal.

"You can't talk, Cyborg", began Robin, "at least they chew their food."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven then took a pause between bites to comment.

"It means that a meal is meant to be savored, not inhaled", she said before sipping from her mug.

 _Ha! Nice one_ , I said to her telepathically. The six of us continued on throughout the rest of the meal like that. Each of us commenting, each of us responding with a witty remark, each of us laughing at someone's expense. On paper, it all sounds a bit mean-spirited, and looking at us from the outside, it sounded like a whole lot of noise, but that was just how we did things. It was just our weird way of showing each other that we cared, and based on how often it happened, we cared a lot. Our crazy breakfast, if you could even call it that (a lot of times we improvised with meals), ended with Cyborg letting out a super-loud belch.

"Yep, that's attractive", said Raven sarcastically as she waved her hand in front of her face.

"What? I'm merely showing my respect to the delicious meal our friend made for us", defended Cyborg jokingly. "Thank you, Robin", he continued to further drive his point.

"Thanks, but flattery's not gonna work", said Robin as he piled his and Starfire's dishes in front of Cyborg. "It's still your turn to do dishes." Cyborg responded with a groan as he continued gathering everyone's empty plates. As he proceeded with cleaning the kitchen, the rest of us all went on to do our own separate activities.

Beast Boy, like he does, immediately snatches up the remote as he claims ownership of both the t.v. and the couch. Starfire, with Silkie rested in her lap, joins Beast Boy on the couch as the two of them flip through the channels until they find one that was currently playing one of Marvel's recent MCU movies.

"I do not understand", began Starfire as she began questioning the logic behind one of the film's plot holes. "For one who claims that he is either too busy or cannot travel without use of the bridge, the Thunder God seems to be able to access Earth most effectively."

"Shhhh! Don't think, just watch", said Beast Boy as he sat at the edge of his seat as if he hadn't seen Thor's second movie before, which he clearly had multiple times.

As for the rest of us, Robin disappeared out of the Ops Room to attend to yet another matter on his own, while Raven and I sat at the booth seats on the far side of the room. While Raven sat in her seat continuing her knitting project, I was curled up a few inches away from her in my wolf form, sleeping off the meal I had just scarfed. Well, I wasn't _really_ sleeping, but I was just in a relaxed mood, as I was just enjoying being in Raven's company.

"And done", said Cyborg once he had finished shelving his last dish. "Now to kick back until the festival."

"What festival", I asked as I lifted my head up.

"The St. Patrick's Day Festival", responded Beast Boy without losing his focus on the t.v. screen.

"Oh, yes. It is most enjoyable", began Starfire. "It is a celebration with many dances, and masks, and music, and beads."

"It's basically like Mardi Gras, just a lot greener", added Cyborg.

"Sounds noisy", I said with a groan. I wasn't really too big of a fan of festivals and things of that sort. Upon hearing my comment, Raven chuckles for a brief moment.

"Oh, come one, it'll be fun", continued Cyborg. "Don't be such a stick in the mud."

"Yeah, we've already got Raven for that", teased Beast Boy.

"Just because I haven't spoken in a while, does not mean I've left the room", warned Raven in her monotone. It was only now that Beast Boy looked away from the screen as he chuckled at her nervously. It was then that the room began to flash again, as did my collar.

"Sorry, Guys, but the festival will have to wait", said Robin as he ran into the room. "We've got trouble."

"Then what're we waiting for", asked an eager Beast Boy as he leapt over the back of the couch.

"A plan", said Cyborg as he looked at a screen on his arm. "According to the reports it's the H.I.V.E. Five again, but they've seem to have split up. We've got two of 'em on the city bridge, two more robbing a jewelry store, and the other two robbing…. a taco place?"

"Ooooh, ooooh, I call "dibs"", said Beast Boy as he waved his hand in the air. "They make the best veggie tacos ever."

"I'm not even going to ask", said Raven sarcastically as she shared my curiosity as to what the Hell a veggie taco was.

"I thought they were called the H.I.V.E. _Five_ , so why do I count six of them", I asked.

"They've got themselves an honorary sixth member", said Cyborg as he continued flipping through the screens on his arms.

"He's called Private Hive", said Robin. "He drops by from time to time, teaming up with the other five each time."

"Good thing Wolfman's here", said Beast Boy. "Now we've got ourselves an even fight."

"Wait, what", I asked.

"Me and BB will take the bridge", began Cyborg to me. "Star and Robin will take the taco joint, and you and Raven take the jewelry store. Upon hearing him say that Raven and I turned and looked at one another. As much as I wanted to team up with Raven, I was concerned about Cyborg's attack plans. My ears dropped a little as I stared into Raven's gorgeous eyes, but immediately perked up upon seeing her smile at me with a nod. She knew of my concerns, and was in agreement with me.

"It would appear that we are in agreement", said Starfire.

"Wrong", I said as I picked myself up off of the couch and rose to my hind legs. "I'm not in _total_ agreement", I continued as I crossed my arms.

"Come on, Guys, we don't have time for one of your little fights right now", said Beast Boy, as if implying that Starfire and I were squaring off.

"Like you have any room to talk", I retorted.

"We'll talk about it later", began Cyborg as he prepared to head for the exit. "Right now we've gotta—", he continued before Raven cut him off.

"Hang on a second, Cyborg, I'm with the Wolfman on this one. They're still using their "divide and conquer" strategy. If we rush in there now, we'll be playing right into their hands again."

"What're you saying, Raven? That we should all rush at them at once and hope there's enough time to hit all three locations", asked Beast Boy.

"Not quite", she continued as she stood up and walked to my side.

"Then what _are_ you saying?"

"I'll tell you what she's saying", I began. "Cyborg, what is your reasoning for assigning us to each of those specific locations", I asked him as I pointed at him.

"Gee, I don't know", began Cyborg sarcastically, "maybe it's because that's where the H.I.V.E. Five are?"

"Let me rephrase. Why specifically are you and Beast Boy assigned to take the bridge?"

"What're you getting at?"

"He's right, Cyborg", said Robin as he jumped into the mix. "Wolfman's playing smart."

"How so", asked Beast Boy.

"Wolfman remembers our last encounter with the Five. The two that are attacking the bridge, one of them is Gizmo, isn't it", he asked to Cyborg. The metal man simply looked away for a moment in silence.

"And the other is Mammoth", I added. "Meaning that waiting for us at the taco joint is See-More and Billy, while Kyd Wykkyd and this Private Hive are at the jewelry store."

"They're counting on us to pair off and take on the same opponents as last time", added Raven.

"So we shall have them play into our hands instead", said Starfire having understood.

"By doing what exactly", asked Beast Boy. The rest of us all groaned as he still wasn't getting what the concern was.

"Cyborg, I understand your frustration with him, Hell, I'd like to throw that kid off of the bridge myself", I began. "However, he almost killed you last time, using this exact same strategy, only this time we're spread out throughout the city."

"Okay, okay, y'all made your point", said a defeated Cyborg with a growl. "But if we're switching opponents, can I at least kick Billy's butt", he asked Robin as his arm turned into a cannon for effect. Robin responded with a grin and a nod.

"Then I shall switch with Raven", said Starfire.

"That means I've got the eye sore", said Raven.

"And I got the big guy", I said as I cracked my knuckles.

"Then who am I fighting", asked Beast Boy. The rest of us all kinda look at him in response. "Hehe, I'll figure it out", he chuckled nervously.

"Just go with Starfire to the jewelry store", said Robin. "Cyborg and Raven, you two take the restaurant. Wolfman, you're with me. We don't have time to take the vehicles. Think you can give me a ride?"

"10-4", I responded as Gizamon's wings sprouted out of my back.

"Good, then let's move out", said Robin as he pointed to the far wall that Starfire and I had destroyed the other day. Having understood what he was saying, I opened up a shadow portal that lead outside. The six of us then all ran through it, which then spit us out over the ocean outside. Before they fell too close to the water below, I flew underneath Robin, Changing into my lion form with Giza's wings (my wolf form was too small to carry him) as I did so, allowing him to land on my back, and Raven created a sort of surfboard-like platform out of her aura, which Cyborg used to balance on as she lifted him into the air.

"Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of thiiiiis", said Cyborg as he wobbled a little struggling to keep his balance.

"I recommend some more practice", I teased as Robin and I flew past him.

"Alright, Titans, go", shouts Robin as he points towards the city's bridge, which he and I could see from the tower. The others responded by pairing off and heading towards their designated locations. Robin continued once the two of us were alone. "Alright, Wolfman, step on it", he said as he patted the top of my maned head.

"Tally Ho", I said with a roar as I wheeled around and took off like a jet over the water towards the bridge. A few moments later, we discovered just as Cyborg said, Mammoth and Gizmo wreaking havoc on the bridge. They were attempting to rob not one, not two, but five armored trucks that were transporting gold for a bank. Now I don't know much about how banks operate, but five gold trucks making one transport at the same time, it was no wonder why they were attacked.

The five trucks had all been crashed, one was crashed into the bridge's railing, two others crashed into each other due to swerving, another swerved into several other pedestrian cars, and the last one had just been punched out by Mammoth. Thankfully, there weren't any casualties yet, but there was still enough of a panic that most of the people, including two of the truck drivers, were running away in fear. As for the three drivers that remained, one was trapped in his truck, as Mammoth's fist had him pinned inside, and the other two shielded themselves behind one of the crashed trucks as they tried to fight back with taser guns.

"Is that all you got", asked Mammoth to the drivers as the voltage had little to no effect on him. He then yanks out the tasers from his body and pulls the two guards towards him with a single powerful tug. Before the airborne humans made contact with the giant, Gizmo flew in with his mechanical bat wings and fired a couple of stun blasts at them. Though the blasts weren't fatal, they were still powerful enough to send the two guards flying backwards. One of the crashed into the bridge's railing, while the other flew up and over it, as Gizmo had thrown him off the bridge.

"Wolfman", shouted Robin as he pointed at the screaming truck driver as he plummeted to the water below.

"On it", I said with a growl as I dove after the man, picking up speed as I did so. "Gotcha", I said as I used my back paws like talons to catch the falling man. I then proceeded to fly him and Robin up to the bridge to confront the H.I.V.E. members.

"Take cover", said Robin to the man as I placed him on the ground. He and his buddy then immediately took off in a panic like the other people, though there were still a few people that stuck around. Some of them did because they were frozen in fear, others because like any conflict, there's always a few people who want to witness and/or record the inevitable battle that was to come.

"Crud! Why is he here and not the metal barf brain", asked Gizmo in reference to Robin.

"So much for your idea", said Mammoth.

"Good call, Wolfman", said Robin in reference to my assumptions about the H.I.V.E. Five's attack plans being correct.

" _Wolf_ man", asked a confused Mammoth in reference to the fact that I was still a lion at the time.

"You might wanna get your eyes checked", teased Gizmo.

"What's the matter? Don't recognize me", I asked him as I Changed back into my normal wolf form. "Aw, now you went and hurt my feelings." Mammoth responded with a chuckle as he cracked his knuckles. Clearly he was itching for a rematch.

"Don't just stand there, you big sludge head, get him", ordered an impatient Gizmo to Mammoth. The giant man paused for a moment to glare at Gizmo, but then proceeded to charge at us with his thunderous voice yelling at us.

"Wolfman, go", said Robin as he offered me his arm. I then rose to my hind legs and grabbed it as I began spinning him around and around.

 _Seismic Toss_ , I thought to myself as I threw him towards Mammoth. Before Mammoth could respond Robin delivered a spinning bird kick to the side of his face. Robin then pulled out his bo-staff and lunged at Gizmo, who had switched to his spider legs in preparation for battle. Mammoth, having recovered from Robin's attack, then turns to charge at him to aid Gizmo. I responded to this by teleporting to his right flank. "No you don't", I said with a growl as I tackled him from the side, sending us both crashing into one of the armored trucks in the process. After we made impact, Mammoth responded by driving his elbow into my ribs, which stunned me long enough for him to turn and deliver a powerful punch to my sternum as I'm thrown back a few feet, though I managed to land on my paws.

"If you thought you could beat me with one attack like you did last time then you don't know who you're up against", said Mammoth as he dusted himself off.

"Then try me, Big Boy", I growled as I pawed at the ground like a bull would with his hooves. Mammoth then charges at me again with his right fist drawn back, just like our first fight. Expecting him to try and block me with his left hand again, I charge forward on all fours as I prepared to close in for a sneak attack. Much to my surprise when I discovered that Mammoth's attack was a fake-out, as his right arm then swung across his body to block his abdomen from my claws, and his left hand, which was _really_ close to my face at this point, balls into a fist and swings at me. Though I did manage to escape him in time as I made my on top of the armored car behind him, I was still very much impressed at the brute's speed and precision as his attack was _way_ too close for comfort. It was just as Mammoth said, my old tricks from before weren't going to work on him.

"I didn't scare you already did I", asked Mammoth as he turned and looked up at me.

"Please, I run from no one", I said as I leapt off and dove at him. Mammoth responded by jumping up towards me as he prepared to punch me out of the air. A look of confusion appears on his face once his target disappears and his punch swings at nothing. Upon landing on his two feet, he began looking around trying to find where I disappeared to. Little did he know that I was secretly on the back of his uniform by his neck in my spider form. He quickly found out I was there upon my fangs digging into his skin.

"Ahhh", roared Mammoth as he frantically tried to squash me as he flailed at his back while I continued to bite him repeatedly. With some quick thinking on his part, he outsmarts me by falling onto his back, which forced my to crawl towards his shoulder to avoid being crushed by his weight. Once I was there, Mammoth quickly reaches over and wraps his giant hand around me, trapping me inside.

I attempted to escape by Changing into my snake form, but the brute responded by squeezing harder as he was now chocking me while the rest of my snake body hung from his grip. I responded to this by wrapping my body around his arm, and then squeezing down on it. Though I was nowhere close to inflicting any significant harm on the big guy, it was enough to loosen his grip, allowing me to bite his hand. Mammoth screamed in pain again as he brought his fist towards the ground to punch it while I was still in his grasp. Before his fist made contact, I managed to teleport out of it as I came down on him in my lion form as I swatted him with my paw.

An irritated Mammoth then rose to his feet with a growl as I proceeded to circle around him, occasionally roaring at him as I did so. Eventually I decided to make the first move as I lunged at him. The giant human responded by using my momentum to throw me behind him. Naturally I recovered as I once again landed on my paws. Unfortunately, I did so with my back turned to him, giving him the opportunity he needed to rush at me and deliver that sort of pile driver maneuver that cowboys used whenever they wrangled cattle. I squirmed under his arm as he laid on his back, but before I managed to break free, Mammoth then throws me high into the air. The next thing I know, Mammoth has jumped up to meet me there, and then punches me in the gut with so much force and precision, that I wound up interrupting Robin's fight with Gizmo, as I barreled straight into him, sending us both crashing into a nearby car.

"I thought cats were supposed to land on their feet", said Robin with a groan as he was leaned against me.

"Oh, shut up", I said in an irritated tone as I nudged him off of me. The two of us rose to our feet and jumped away just in time as Gizmo began firing his stun blasts again. I then noticed that as Robin was continuing to fight Gizmo again, I noticed Mammoth, just as he tried to earlier, rushing over to aid his teammate in a double teamed attack. Upon noticing this, I made my way back over to the car I crashed into and grabbed the front bumper. _Seeing as how I totaled it anyway_ , I thought to myself as I began swinging the vehicle just as I did with Robin earlier. "Heads up, Big Fella", I shouted as I hurled the car at Mammoth, who was now close to Robin and Gizmo as they both were now in range of the flying car.

With some quick thinking on his part, Robin immediately spreads his legs in a sort of split as he drops to the ground, allowing the car to soar over him. In addition, as he did so, Robin also managed to swing himself around to face Gizmo, as he was facing me and the car when he first lowered himself, pull out one of his birdarangs, and slice through two of Gizmo's spider legs, making the entire maneuver look like one, single, badass, ninja motion. Gizmo, having lost his balance due to Robin's attack, then prepares to leap into the air using his other two spider legs, but he was too slow. The only reason he didn't get pummeled by the car I tossed, was because Mammoth managed to jump in front of him, and catch the car just before Gizmo leapt into the air.

In response to this, Robin and I improvised a team attack of our own. As Mammoth caught the car, and my animal instincts began to slow everything down, I saw a small attack opening and took it as I then teleported to Mammoth and the car, Changing into my bear form as I did so. I then balled my right paw into a crude fist, cloaked it with my aura, and punched through the car, which then made contact with Mammoth's face as my punch began to propel him backwards. As that's going on, before I could even make it to the ground, Robin leaps onto my back, and then leaps off of it as he lunges at Gizmo, delivering a jump kick to the little brat's torso as a result.

"Nice work", said Robin back to me as he landed in front of me. I responded by rising to my hind legs and roaring. There was no real reason for it other than to make the two of us look like a couple of badasses. With Robin being in a ninja-like battle position with his staff, while a large bear stood behind him, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to relish the moment.

"You stinkin' barf brain", said Gizmo as he picks himself up and kicks Mammoth, still on his back, in the head. "Watch where you're going", he continues as he activates a jet pack and flies off to the side, Robin then breaks away to go after him. I paused for a moment to watch Robin chase after Gizmo, baffled by the little runt's disrespect and ignorance towards his teammate. If it weren't for Mammoth, I very well could've killed him considering his size when compared to the car.

"You ungrateful little—", I began in disbelief as I shook my head at Gizmo.

"Hey, Yogi", said Mammoth as he rose to his feet. "The fight's over here", he continued, once again cracking his knuckles (guess that was his thing). In response to his challenge I let out another roar. The two of us then charged at each other, starting our fight over again.

For what felt like hours, the two of us battled each other by crashing into each other, throwing each other, choking out each other, and punching each other like a traditional boxing match. However, as painful as it was fighting him (as big as Mammoth was, every punch I received from him felt like being hit with a tank), truthfully I found myself enjoying our battle. If you take the honorable aspect from my fight with Beast Boy in the sewers, the ego boost I felt when I one-upped Mumbo, and the cocky rivalry I shared with Red X, and somehow mixed them all together, that would give you a small idea as to how I looked at Mammoth as an opponent. It was clear to me that our first fight was just pure luck on my part, as it was proving difficult to knock him out as I did last time. As I had expected from the beginning, for a human, Mammoth was truly an impressive, as well as worthy opponent.

Eventually our fighting took another turn. At some point during our battle, I found myself standing on top of one of the armored cars, staring down at Mammoth. The two of us growled at each other for a moment, then simultaneously lunged at each other. Upon us making contact, Mammoth managed to land a powerful punch into my gut, but not before I managed to fire a Morado Laser at him. Our attacks were so close to landing at the same time that if it weren't for the fact that my instincts kept slowing down our battle, the tow of us would look like we were made of rubber as much as we kept "bouncing" off of each other whenever we collided. My aura attack sent Mammoth flying backwards into a pickup truck several yards away (the truck tumbling on top of him in the process), while his punch sent me barreling back into the armored truck with so much force that I wound up crashing through it as I landed inside of it.

"Ow, bitch", I said to myself with a groan as I struggled to pick myself up from inside the truck. Mammoth's blow to my stomach was so devastating that I was forced back into my human form. Up ahead, I noticed Mammoth rising back to his feet as well, though he was taking a moment to show off. As he rose to his feet, he lifted the truck up off of himself and roared at me as he held it above his head. He then gives the truck a toss as he hurls it over the side of the bridge (nobody was in it so I wasn't too bothered by it). _Oh yeah_ , I thought to myself as I surrounded my body in my aura. I then shot straight up through the roof of the truck, leaping high into the air as I crashed through the vehicle for the second time. I then did a quick front flip, Changing as I did so as I landed back on top of the truck in my wolf form. I then let out a loud howl in response to his roar.

"Hmph, not bad, Fido", teased Mammoth with a grin.

"You, too, Wreck-it-Ralph", I retorted in reference to his giant hands. The two of us then prepared to charge at each other again, but then my collar started beeping. On the one hand, it doesn't sound all that surprising since my collar had my communicator in it and therefore it blinked, flashed, and made all other kinds of sounds whenever the Titans contacted me. However, this particular sound was unique as it sounded similar to a distress signal, yet didn't flash like my collar does with other distress signals.

"Uh, we're kinda in the middle of something here", said an annoyed Mammoth upon him noticing I focussed my attention on my collar as if I had pulled out a cell phone. The only thing more surprising than his annoyance with my collar, as if he absolutely wanted and needed my undivided attention (which he shouldn't considering he was trying to beat the shit outta me at the time), was the fact that he then goes on to patiently, yet reluctantly, wait for me to finish as I ignored him to answer the call.

"Uh, hello", I asked in a bit of confusion as I had no idea who was calling me.

"Quickly, Master Wolf", began Fixit, "brace yourself." Upon hearing him say that my ears began to twitch. Something was coming, I could sense it. I then looked out off of the bridge over the ocean. Flocks of seagulls were squawking in a panic as they flew from the mainland.

"Oh shit", I said in a panic as I reached for my collar. "Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, is anybody there?"

"A little busy here", said Cyborg sarcastically as it sounded like he was in the middle of a fight. I also heard a weird animal-like growl (as in I couldn't recognize what kind of animal could make the noise I was hearing) coming from one of the Titans' communicators, though I ignored it upon Starfire talking over it.

"Can this not wait?"

"Take to the air! Get to higher ground!"

"Why, what's up", asked Cyborg.

"JUST DO IT", I shouted as I leapt off of the truck in my armored form and flew over to Robin. Robin was just about to land a flying kick to Gizmo, who fought back with two more spider legs, but was interrupted as I grabbed him out of the air by his cape with my teeth.

"What're you doing", he asked as he dangled from my jaws as I flew higher.

"You'll thank me later", I said to him through my teeth as I came to a stop as I hovered. It was then that the expected earthquake struck Jump City, only unlike the previous ones, this one was at least a 6.0. As the bridge began to shake below us, I noticed that there were still a considerable amount of people who were _still_ lingering around the four-person battle that's had been going on for what felt like several hours. "That's a problem", I said in reference to all the people still on the bridge.

"No kidding", retorted Robin. As if the earthquake itself overheard us, the shaking became even more intense as we noticed that the very street began to crack underneath all the cars and people. There was also some creaking being heard from the rafters, poles, and cords that were holding the bridge together. "Titans, emergency", said Robin into his communicator. I interrupted him before he could continue.

"Incoming", I shouted as I ducked out of the way of one of the metal cords of the bridge as it ripped out of place and swung at us. We then noticed that beneath us, the bridge began doing a sort of wave-like motion as it began to break, which finally got the lingering crowd to start running. Things intensified when a man within the panicky crowd gets thrown to the side, resulting in him hanging from the edge.

"Throw me again", commanded Robin. As instructed, I swung my head around a few times, and then launched Robin downward towards the endangered citizen. Robin then manages to swing from him grappling hook just in time as the man had just lost his grip. While Robin was taking care of him, I turned my attention to some of the vehicles on the bridge, as several of them still had passengers in them, including a school bus full of elementary school children.

As another shock wave shook the bridge, the highway sort of "pulsed" as several of the cars began sliding towards one edge of the collapsing bridge. This resulted in three vehicles being pushed over the edge, along with two other citizens that got caught in the avalanche of sliding cars. I instinctively dove after them as I rushed to try and save them. Fortunately, only one of the vehicles had passengers in it, so I focused my attention on it as I let the other two plummet to the ocean. I caught the single car with my back paws like the talons of a bird, while catching the other two citizens with each of my arms. I was just about to fly back up to the bridge with my load, when I noticed my grip on the car was vanishing due to me tearing off the back bumper.

"Yo, Robin", I roared back up to the bridge. In response to my call, Robin rushed over to the edge and looked down. "Catch", I continued as I tossed one of the citizens I had in my arms up at him. Robin responded by utilizing his grappling hook again as he leapt off of the edge to catch him.

"Wolfman, the bumper", shouted Robin as he hung from the bridge with the citizen grasping onto his hand. At that moment, the back bumper of the car ripped off, and the car began to plummet towards the water again, bring the family of three with it.

"Spider Thread", I say to myself as I shoot a web out of my paw at the falling car. Fortunately, the car had only fallen for about a second or two before my web caught it. "Gotcha", I said to myself as I held onto the web like a rope. I was just about to fly towards the bridge again, when another citizen fell over the edge, this time a child. I gasped upon seeing the young girl fall to her untimely death.

"Oh no", shouted Robin. Fortunately, by a pretty huge stroke of luck, before the girl smacked into the water, she was caught by another Titan as she swooped in and caught her in time.

"Yo, Wolfman", called Cyborg from up on the bridge. I then looked up and noticed that his arm reached out as if he was offering it to me. Understanding what he was saying, I looked down at the other citizen I held in my arm.

"No no no", said the worried woman as she shook her head.

"Sorry, Ma'am", I said to her just before I tossed her up to Cyborg. He helped smooth out the toss by extending his robotic arm down at her as she was tossed up to him, reducing the amount of time she was airborne.

"Don't worry, Cy's got ya", said Cyborg to the woman as he began reeling her up to the bridge. Robin, Raven, and I then followed his lead as we all began making our way back up to the bridge with the rescued citizens we each had in our grasp. Fortunately, by the time we all made it back onto the bridge and the citizens were safe, the earthquake had stopped. _Un_ fortunately, the bridge was still beginning to crumble, as it suffered a lot of damage from the magnitude.

"Please tell me somebody's got a plan", said Raven as the four of us began devising a game plan.

"Hold up, what's that little cretin doin'", asked Cyborg as he pointed behind me and Robin. We all turned to see that Gizmo was _still_ robbing the armored trucks of all of their gold as he used a shrinking ray to shrink the gold down and stow it away in a pouch he brought with him.

"Forget about him", began Robin. "We have to stabilize this bridge first."

"Yeah, but where's—", I began before being interrupted by the bridge as its metal began to groan for a moment. Upon hearing it, everyone quieted down and stood still.

"Nobody move a muscle", whispered Robin as we all waited anxiously to see if the bridge would collapse. Eventually the groaning stopped, but we all remained still, hesitant to move.

"Eat it, Barf Brains", shouted a snickering Gizmo as he fired several blasts as the top of the bridge. This resulted in several of the bridge's cords beginning to break as the sound of ripping metal could be heard. Gizmo then took to the air with his jet pack as he began flying away with the gold.

"Hey, what about me", hollered Mammoth as he ran towards him. Unfortunately for him, the ground he ran towards was unstable as it broke underneath him, sending him plummeting towards the ocean. As the distressed Mammoth began hollering, I dove after him. Once I reached him, I immediately positioned myself under one of his arms as I began flying him back up to the bridge. "What're you doing", he asked me.

"Saving your life", I responded as I hoisted him up onto the bridge. Once his feet were back on the ground, he looked back at me for a moment awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure what to say next.

"Guys, look", shouted Cyborg as pointed up towards the top of the bridge. The metal continued to groan and creak again until eventually the cords holding up the bridge began to tear out of place.

"No", I shouted with a roar as I teleported up to one of the cords as it snapped in half. I then grabbed each piece of it with each arm and held on for dear life as the collapsing bridge began pulling me in two different directions. The strain from physically trying to hold the bridge together was so intense that I couldn't help but roar in pain.

"Titans, go", shouted Robin as he and Cyborg shared a lift up to the top of the bridge as Raven created another energy disc for them to ride on.

"Robin, hurry", I shouted as I noticed that out the corner of my eyes I could see that three other cords were beginning to tear. Raven then drop off Cyborg and Robin each on top of one of the tearing cords as she claimed the third one.

"They're too far apart, they need to be closer", said Cyborg to the group in reference to him trying to repair the bridge before it completely collapsed.

"Wolfman", asked Robin to me. Understanding what I needed to do, I grew four extra arms and grabbed at the two cords with them. With three arms holding onto each cord, I let out another loud roar as I pulled my six arms close to each other as hard as I could. The giant, metal bridge groaned yet again upon me pulling it into place. Once the cords were as close as I could get them, my arms began to tremble immediately, and my wings began flapping out of control.

"Nice work", said Robin as he and Raven got to work on the second cord (Raven's psychic powers allowed her to repair her cord in little to no time at all.

"You're doing great, Wolfman", shouted Cyborg. "How're we holding up?"

"Do I have to answer", I screamed sarcastically as I continued to struggle against the bridge. I yanked the bridge closer together impulsively when I noticed that I was beginning to lose my grip, which wasn't surprising. My muscles were screaming in pain. Fortunately, Robin and Raven completed their cord soon after.

"I'll help Cyborg", began Robin to Raven. "Go see if you can give Wolfman a hand." Robin then begins swinging from his grappling over towards Cyborg while Raven flew over towards me.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", shouted Raven as she fired her aura at the two cords I was holding. Her powers immediately got to work as they began repairing the damage. Upon seeing Raven's assistance, I obtained a second wind and jerked the cords closer together to help her out, growling from the strain as I did so. _Keep it up, we're almost there_ , she said to me telepathically, encouraging me not to give up. A few moments later, I overheard Cyborg speaking to Robin.

"I've got the rest of this one, swing over to help them."

"Okay, keep it up, Cyborg", he replied as he fired his grappling hook again. As he swung over towards me and Raven, something unfortunate happened. Another of the bridge's cords snapped apart and swung at Robin, slicing through his grappling hook in the process.

"Robin, no", shouted me, Raven, and Cyborg as our leader began to plummet towards the bridge below us. The drop was _way_ too big for him to survive. And even if he did, to make matters worse, cars were still sliding to one edge of the bridge, and as my instincts revealed as they slowed the world down again, Robin's path towards the ground was leading him to land on the front of the school bus as it began speeding towards the edge where Robin was falling. My heart began to race upon realizing that Robin and possibly everyone in the bus were about to lose their lives, but fortunately, help came from an unlikely source, as Mammoth began to rush towards them.

Once he was in position, he waited until Robin had fallen enough to the ground before he lunged at him. As he did, Mammoth essentially tackled Robin out of the way of the bus, and then positioned himself in midair to intercept the bus with his body in the hopes that he could stop it from advancing. Unfortunately, despite Mammoth's intensions, things still spiraled out of control.

Upon being tackled, Robin crashed into another car head-first and wound up getting knocked out as his unconscious body fell to the ground. As for Mammoth, despite his large size, the fact that he was airborne had no impact on stopping the bus as it continued to barrel through him anyway, sending both it and Mammoth over the edge as they fell to the ocean below. Not only that, as the bus went over the edge, the concrete streets around the general area of the bus began to crumble, which once again put Robin in danger as the cracks in the road spread to his body as well as the vehicles around him.

"We've gotta get down there", I shouted as Mammoth and the bus began sinking into the sea. It was then I noticed that Raven had just finished repairing the bridge's cord upon me saying that.

"Good, we're done", said Raven. I let out a slight sigh of relief as I was finally able to release the bridge.

"Same here", added Cyborg as he rose to his feet after completing his repairs. "Teen Titans, go", he shouted as he began sliding down the metal cord towards the street below. Raven and I immediately dove after him to assist in rescuing the others. Raven then flew underneath then collapsing portion of the bridge and created an aura shield to help keep the crumbling street in place. Cyborg went straight after Robin as he weaved in and out of the sliding cars as he carried Robin to safety away from the bridge's edge. As for me, I dove down into the sea like a missile as I went after the bus. A part of me regretted crashing into the water the way I did immediately as the impact was enough to knock some wind outta me, which wasn't good considering I was underwater and had to hold my breath.

 _Oh shit_ , I thought to myself as I looked towards the bottom of the sea after shaking away the dizziness. The bus was sinking quicker than I originally thought as I could just barely see it below me, and that was _with_ my werewolf vision. Using my wings and extra arms to help propel me, I swam down to the sinking bus. Once there, I looked into one of the windows. All the children, and the handle of adults, were in a panic as the tried to break through the windows in response to the water pressure trapping them inside as water leaked into it. _Don't worry, I'll save you_ , I thought to myself as I swam down towards the front of the bus. Once there, I began pushing it up towards the surface.

Normally this wouldn't have been too bad. However, between my powers being weakened, me being short on breath due to how I entered the water, and the fact that I was still exhausted from holding up the bridge for so long, my entire body felt like it was on fire as I struggled to push the bus in a timely manner. Things only got worse once I noticed something else out the corners of my eyes. Something else was sinking next to us, and he was unconscious.

 _Oh no, Mammoth_ , I thought to myself as I temporarily left the bus and swam over to the sinking giant. I then wrapped him under one of my arms and swam back to the bus in a panicky hurry, as it had begun sinking again. I then began pulling it towards the surface by the back bumper, which turned out to be even more strenuous than pushing the bus, especially considering I was hauling Mammoth as well. _Come on, move it_ , I scolded to myself upon me noticing that my strength was starting to leave me. I also noticed that my lungs were started to hurt as I was quickly running out of breath, and my vision was starting to get a bit blurrier because of it. I got really spooked when I heard the sound of the dove cooing, and Kendall giggling. _No! Not yet! This can't it the end! The autumn moon hasn't risen yet, and there are innocent people with me! Instead of laughing at me, why don't one of y'all give me a hand here?_

 _Ask and you shall receive, my prince_ , said the cloaked woman in my head. It was then that I noticed something huge swimming towards me from out in the distance of the deep and dark ocean. It was another whale.

 _About time_ , I thought to myself as the nearly 90000-pound mammal swam under me and the bus and began pushing us towards the surface. I gasped a huge breath of air once my muzzle emerged from the water. I then began immediately taking to the air, as I was anxious to get my passengers to the bridge before my muscles gave out. Cyborg and Raven helped me halfway, as they helped pull me up towards the bridge via extendable arms and aura magic. Once I made it safely back onto the bridge, I immediately dropped to the ground.

"Wolfman", said Cyborg and Raven simultaneously as they ran up to me.

"Them first", I panted as I pointed at the bus, which was still filled with water. Cyborg then rushes over to the back door and rips it off, releasing all the water from inside. The bus' passengers responded with collective gasps and coughs. We were fortunate that none of them drowned. "Thanks, Beast, Boy", I struggled in between breaths.

 _Not quite_ , said the cloaked woman in my head again, which was accompanied by Kendall's giggle. Upon hearing their voices, I looked up and noticed that neither Beast Boy or Starfire were on the bridge, meaning that they never made it back to the rest of us, and more importantly, Beast Boy wasn't the one who helped me out of the ocean.

"Wait, then that means—", I began as I looked behind me over the ocean. The gray whale that helped me sang her whale song as she splashed her tail upon descending back into the ocean. "Thank you, Friend", I whispered. _Though that's either extremely lucky or extremely odd that she decided to help us._

"Guys, I need help", called Raven to me and Cyborg, snapping me out of my inner thoughts. I then Changed back into my normal wolf form and trotted over to her. She was resting on her knees next to Mammoth, who was still unconscious. "He's alive, but he's not breathing, and he's too large for chest compressions."

"Well I'm not kissing him", said Cyborg in reference to his refusal to perform CPR.

"That won't be necessary", I said as I rose to my hind legs and sharpened my claws. "Stand back", I continued as purple electricity sparked from my claws. Raven and Cyborg then began pushing back the crowd to give me and Mammoth some room. "Come on, Big Guy", I said to myself as if Mammoth could hear me. The then sank my claws into his skin, with one set of claws in the right side of his chest, and then other into the left side of his torso. "Thunder Claw", I growled to myself as I sent my electricity surging throughout his body as if I were a mutant defibrillator. A few seconds later, Mammoth's eyes shot open as he delivered a punch to my throat, sending me flying back a couple of feet. "Dick, why would you do that", I asked sarcastically with a gasp as I clutched at my neck. Raven and Cyborg then assumed battle positions as they were anticipating a fight. Mammoth responded sticking a finger in the air as if to say, "hold on a second". He then pounded at his sternum a couple of times, which eventually urged him to cough up all the water that was trapped in his lungs.

"Keep your claws to yourself", said Mammoth as he rose to his feet after catching his breath.

"Say what", asked a hysterical Cyborg. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"You got a problem, Metal Mouth?"

"Bring it, you ungrateful snake." I responded to their bickering with a roar, which got them to quiet down immediately.

"That's quite enough", I said to the both of them, though I focussed my gaze on Mammoth. I then began to stalk towards the middle of him and Cyborg.

"Oh, you want some, too", goaded Mammoth itching to start another fight. Despite him trying to be a tough guy again, I hadn't forgotten about the heroic actions he made in trying to save both Robin and the school children. Between that and our battle we had prior to that, it was clear that despite him being a villain, Mammoth still had honor. That said, I gave Cyborg a bit of a fake-out as I turned my back to Mammoth at the last minute and faced Cyborg as I stood between the two combatants. In response, Cyborg gave me a look as if to say, "what're you doing? Get out of my way", to which I responded with a canine whine.

"Let him go, Cyborg", called Robin from off to the side, having finally recovered. "Let him go." Upon hearing that Robin shared my thoughts in sparing Mammoth, I turned back around to face him, Changing back into my human form as I did so.

"This ain't over", growled Mammoth as he grabbed me by the front of my uniform and pulled me into his face. I growled at him in response.

"Mammoth", warned Raven from behind me. Mammoth looked over at her for a moment, and then reluctantly released me with a shove.

"You got off easy this time", said Mammoth just before he turned and ran towards the mainland. The citizens all gasped as they scrambled out of the large brute's way. As I stood there watching him, Raven and Cyborg walked up and stood at my sides.

 _What are you thinking_ , asked Raven to me telepathically.

 _I'm not sure. Mammoth may be a villain, but I'm sensing some inner conflict. What happens next is up to him._

 _Well in any case, you were really brave, and you did the right thing._ I couldn't help but grin upon hearing her compliment.

"Starfire, Beast Boy, report", said Robin into his communicator. Upon hearing him call for the others, the three of us all turned around to face him.

"Still no answer", asked Raven. Robin shook his head in response. Clearly he was worried about Starfire.

"Star and BB's communicators still have a pretty strong signal", said Cyborg as he looked at a screen on his arm.

"Good, then let's get going", said Robin as he looked over at me. I nodded in response as I Changed back into a winged lion. The four of us then took to the air, Robin on my back and Cyborg aided by Raven, as began our course to the jewelry store in search of our friends.


	18. Aftermath

When the four of us finally made into Jump City, we gazed upon the damage the earthquake caused as we flew by. Though the range of the earthquake was enough to affect the entire city, fortunately the damage was only minimal. The damage mostly consisted of broken windows and cracks in the ground, and the only serious cases of damage were the two involving two capsized light posts, one of which landed on somebody's car.

The only exception to that damage report was the jewelry store where Starfire and Beast Boy were sent to, which we discovered upon arriving was nothing but a pile of rubble. Fortunately, according to the emergency responders who greeted us, all but four people made it out safely before the building came down. _Un_ fortunately, two of those four people included our teammates.

"Starfire", hollered Robin as he dismounted me and ran over to the pile of rubble, hopeful that his love would respond. "Starfire", he repeated as his voice broke slightly. Raven, Cyborg, and I all sort of stood awkwardly behind him in a half-worried, half-mournful kinda way, as we weren't certain what became of our friends. "No", shouted Robin as he rushed forward and began digging through the rubble, searching for Starfire.

"Hey, you can't go in there", shouted one of the emergency responders as he and his buddy began rushing at Robin. I responded to this by teleporting in front of them and roaring. Upon seeing a lion materialize out of nowhere, they both immediately backed down. Cyborg and Raven then joined Robin and I as we all began digging through the rubble.

"This isn't working", said Raven after a few moments of aimless digging. She then began to levitate and meditate as she began chanting her mantra, in an effort to sense out our friends.

"Cyborg, check for heartbeats. Wolfman, find a scent", commanded Robin to me and Cyborg with a hint of aggression in his voice. Having an understanding as to why he was upset, Cyborg and I carried out our orders without question as he began scouring through detectors and scanners on his arm, while I Changed from feline to canine as I began sniffing through the rubble. As for Robin, himself, he continued to dig where he was, still determined to find her. "Anything yet?"

"Nothing yet", began Cyborg. "My sonic analyzer's working overtime trying to pierce through all this brick and cement."

"Keep trying", said an irritated Robin.

"Not a problem", replied Cyborg.

"I don't care if it's a problem, I just want—", began Robin with a raised voice. I interrupted him with a canine whine, which got him to calm down a tad.

"We're worried, too, Robin", said Raven having paused from her meditating for a moment. "We're going to find them. We just need too—", she continued before losing her train of thought. Judging from the look in her eyes as she did so, I assumed she sensed something, as did I. Upon sensing the same presence that she did, my ears and tail shot up.

"I've got a heartbeat", said Cyborg. Upon him saying that, a small portion of the rubble on the far end of the destruction shifted as something moved underneath it.

"And movement", I added. Robin then tried to rush towards the movement, but got stopped by Raven as she cloaked him in her aura.

"Just a moment, Robin, I don't think that's Starfire over there."

"She's right", I added. "I'll go check it out."

"Wait up", said Cyborg as he accompanied me from the other side. Though the two of us closed in together, initially I was the one that got up close and personal with the shifted rubble as I began inspecting it with my nose. After a few moments of sniffing, I picked up a familiar scent, accompanied by a dark presence.

"Wykkyd", I said back to Cyborg before I began digging him out. Cyborg then came over to help just as the portion of rubble upon which we stood began to glow green.

"What did you do", he asked.

"I didn't", I responded as the glow began to burn brighter and brighter. This continued until eventually a small, green explosion blasted through the rubble, causing me and Cyborg to be tossed backwards, creating a large cloud of dust in the process. When the dust finally cleared, I could hear Robin's heart skip a beat. Standing in the center of the crater caused by the explosion, stood Starfire, who had Kydd Wykkyd draped over one shoulder, and Private Hive under her other arm.

"Robin", said a gleeful Starfire as she flew over to Robin and embraced him, as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

"Thank goodness you're okay", said Robin.

"And can we say how happy we are to see you", I said sarcastically with a groan as I rose onto my paws. Starfire then flew over towards me and began embracing me in a hug as well.

"Oh, Wolfman, it is most wonderful to see you."

"Yes, but you don't have to crush me to prove it", I groaned in her grasp. Initially ignoring my comment, Starfire then goes over to Raven to hug her as well.

"You're hugging me", said Raven in a tone as if to say, "don't touch me".

"And Cyborg", said Starfire as she scooped up the metal man in a hug and twirled him around.

"Uh, Star, I would very much appreciate it if you never did that again", said Cyborg in reference to the somewhat embarrassing role reversal he was in. Starfire simply giggled in response as she placed him back down.

"Okay, so now that the warm and fuzzies have been shared, where's Beast Boy", asked Raven.

"Beast Boy is um—", began Starfire nervously. "At the moment he's um—".

"He's what, Star", asked Cyborg. Upon Cyborg asking his question, we noticed that off to the side, the two unconscious H.I.V.E. members were beginning to wake up and rise to their feet.

"Oy, my head. You holding up okay, Wykkyd", asked who I assumed was Private Hive. He wore a one-piece body suit with a built in mask. The suit's torso and top half of the arms were black, while the rest of the suit was yellow, giving him the look of an obnoxious bumblebee (his villain name didn't help much either). The dark mutant he was talking to simply nodded in response, for some reason the guy never speaks. Private Hive then looks over and notices that five out of six of the Teen Titans had assembled and stood in front of him. "Oh, great", he continued as he held up his shield that was originally in the shape of a hexagon. I say "originally" as the shield he held up looked like something had taken a few bites out of it, as if it tried to eat the shield. Based on what was left of the shield, it appeared that the design consisted of a black hexagon with a yellow border, and a yellow letter "H" in the middle. "Man your battle stations, Soldier", he said to Kyd Wykkyd as he assumed a battle stance. It was then I took a closer look at the two villains.

In addition to Private's shield looking like it survived a shark attack, he and Kyd Wykkyd's uniforms were riddled with slashes and cuts, giving evidence that some animal brutally attacked them. I also noticed that Private had a black eye hidden under his mask, and Kyd Wykkyd in particular had what looked like a rather large bite mark on his neck as there was dried up blood on it.

 _Whoa, did he do all of that_ , I thought to myself. My inner thoughts were interrupted as a familiar smell grabbed my nose's attention, though I couldn't remember why it smelt familiar.

"What did you do with BB", asked Cyborg to the villains.

"Who, your mental green civilian", asked Private Hive.

"What'd you say", asked an angered Cyborg as he pointed his cannon arm at the private and stepped forward.

"Cyborg, please", pleaded Starfire.

"Everybody stop", I demanded as I began twitching my ears. I was trying to listen in on any signs of movement.

"Why should we", asked Cyborg.

"Two things: one, I smell a gas leak (that was technically a lie, as I truly didn't think it was gas that I was smelling, but the strange scent did have a sort of chemically smell to it). And two: something's down there", I said as I motioned towards the rubble in between us and the two H.I.V.E. members. The seven of us all stood there in silence, patiently waiting for something to happen, for about two minutes. After that, the rubble began to shake, though it wasn't another earthquake. Something was emerging from underneath.

"Titans, move", shouted Robin. In response, the five of us all tried to move back a bit. I unfortunately was unable to, as I was directly on top of whatever was trying to emerge, which resulted in me standing on the creature's back as it rose out of the rubble. In a matter of seconds, I found myself standing on the back of a green ankylosaurus, who let out a bellow upon being freed. "Beast Boy, you're okay." The green dinosaur, both ignoring Robin's comment and the fact that I was still standing on his back, simply turned towards the two villains and growls, which got the two of them to back up a little. Normally this wouldn't bother me too much, as it was just Beast Boy about to fight a couple of villains, which is normal. However, my nose had a different opinion.

 _*Sniff sniff, there's that weird smell again, except it's even stronger now. Blegh, it smells like a gorilla pen at a zoo mixed with wet dog, kinda like, *gasp, that weird bottle of green goo in Chang's lab. Well now that I know what I'm smelling, where is it coming from?_ My inner thoughts were interrupted upon Beast Boy lifting up his head and sniffing the air. The green dinosaur then turns back around and focusses his attention on Raven. At first he was just looking at her, but then takes a few steps towards her and growls again, which didn't fly with me one bit. I responded to this by leaping off of Beast Boy's back and landing in front of him with my back turned to Raven. It was then that I noticed a weird look in Beast Boy's eyes.

I don't know what I was expecting his eyes to look like, but it was easy to spot what they weren't supposed to look like. When I looked into the green dinosaur's eyes, I saw the eyes of a predator. I saw the eyes of an animal that looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks. And finally, the look I saw in his eyes was one of primal rage, and these looks were focussed on Raven, which upon realizing that, instinctively caused my to growl as well as the fur on my back shot up. Something was definitely wrong with Beast Boy.

The green dinosaur looks down at me for a brief moment, but then looks back up at Raven. My ears twitched as I could hear Raven step over to the left to avoid Beast Boy's view. As she did, Beast Boy's gaze followed her. I responded to this by once again stepping in front of Raven, placing myself between her and the green lizard. Raven moved again towards the right, and Beast Boy and I followed her just as we previously did. Upon seeing me block his path twice, the green dinosaur let out a loud bellow in irritation.

"Starfire", I asked to the alien girl behind me. Based in her hesitant behavior when asked about Beast Boy, and Beast Boy's dangerously odd behavior, I could tell that she knew something was up, and something was.

"Yes", she responded.

"Get Raven and the others out of here." A part of me panicked upon realizing I said "Raven and the others" instead of simply saying "the others". _Hopefully nobody caught that_ , I thought to myself.

"Wait, what about you", asked Robin.

"Leave this to me", I said as I growled at Beast Boy.

"Hold up a second—", began Cyborg before being interrupted by Raven.

"No, we should trust what he says and back away."

"But why?"

"Because this is now an animal matter, and Wolfman is the only one that can handle this." Upon hearing her say that, my heart dropped, for it was clear to me at that moment that Raven was fully aware of what was wrong with Beast Boy, as was I as I came to a startling realization. The weird chemical scent I was smelling, the one that kinda smelt like a mix between canine and primate, it was coming from Beast Boy. It was filling the air like a pheromone, so much so that it damn near seemed like Beast Boy's very body was spraying it through his skin like air freshener. Beast Boy may have been standing before me as a prehistoric reptile, but when I looked at him, and smelled the scent he was giving off, I saw a whole different animal, one that was both all too familiar to me, and far more dangerous and lethal.

"Please do only what you must", pleaded Starfire. I responded by turning back to her for a brief moment and nodding. The nearly six-foot tall lizard took advantage of me looking away from him as he charged at me with a bellow. I responded to this by rising onto my hind legs and wrapping my arms around his neck as I held him in place.

"Get out of here", I hollered back at the Titans. The four of them immediately turned and began running to safety towards the somewhat panicky crowd of people across the street. I noticed that Raven and Robin both stopped in the middle of the street for a moment to look back at me.

"Wolfman", shouted Robin.

"Go, now", I roared at him. With me distracted as I looked at Robin, Beast Boy found the opportunity to get the upper hand as he swung his head upward, throwing me behind him as he freed himself from my grip. As I crash-landed onto the rubble behind him, Beast Boy then took a moment to morph into a triceratops as he roared at the Titans yet again. As I rose back onto my hind paws, I noticed that Cyborg stepped forward and aimed him cannon at Beast Boy, which got the dino to begin charging ahead. "Cyborg, don't", I shouted as I grabbed Beast Boy by the tail and began tugging him backward. "Let me handle this", I grunted through my teeth as I fought against the resisting lizard. I them let out a roar just before I sank my teeth into Beast Boy's tail, which got a groan out of him as he stopped dead in his tracks and glared back at me to see his tail in my jaws. "Now that I have your attention", I said as I spit out Beast Boy's tail and tightened my grip on it with my paws. I then stuck my left leg back and began lifting the large dinosaur up by his tail, only to slam him into the rubble behind me as if I was using him as a sledge hammer. Upon impact, Beast Boy then became engulfed in a large cloud of dust.

"Whoa, did you see that", asked some random citizen in response to witnessing me tossing a giant dinosaur, despite him being much bigger than I was. It was then that as the dust began to clear, a new dinosaur emerged. He roared in anger as he charged at me with his jaws lowered towards the ground.

"Oh shit", I said to myself just before Tyranno Beast Boy clamped his jaws around me and then proceeded to try and swallow me whole. I overheard Starfire shriek upon seeing Beast Boy trying to eat me. Before I fell too far back into his mouth, I managed to pry his mouth open by Changing into my larger bear form and lifting upward against the roof of the dino's mouth. "You did not just try to eat me", I growled, offended that somebody tried to make me, a natural-born predator, their prey.

I then removed one of my front paws that was holding Beast Boy's mouth open and pointed it towards his throat. I then began firing a barrage of Shadow Balls into it, which eventually got a reaction out of the giant lizard as he instinctively spit me back out. As smoke due to my attack leaked from my jaws and nose, I rose back onto my hind legs and roared a tyranno roar at him.

Upon hearing my roar, the large lizard stopped dead in his tracks as he looked down at me. I remained on my hind legs, showing him that I did not fear him. The t-rex then lowered his head towards me as we looked each other in the eye. It was then that I noticed a change in Beast Boy's eyes. Though he was still angry, I could no longer see the same primal, carnivorous rage I sensed earlier, nor could I smell the chemically pheromone anymore. This told me that Beast Boy had finally gained a grip on himself, so I responded to this realization by Changing back into my human form, still unafraid of him. I then stepped out of Beast Boy's way, as he lifted his head back up and began walking forward.

"Where are you off to", asked Starfire as she floated up to the lizard's face. Beast Boy responded with an angry roar as if to say, "I do whatever I want".

"Just let him go, Star", I told her. Upon hearing my comment, Beast Boy looked back at me for a moment as a low growl rumbled in his throat. He then turns away as he begins walking towards the edge of the city, towards the forest. I then walked over to rejoin the Titans. "Is everyone okay?"

"Are _we_ okay", asked Cyborg hysterically. "What about you? You're the one that was almost eaten."

"Trust me, I've dealt with worse."

"What's worse than getting eaten by a dinosaur?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised."

"But shouldn't we follow him", asked Starfire.

"Nah, we'll just let the little guy cool down for a bit", I said. "He'll come back when he's ready."

"I agree", said Robin. "As long as he has that temper, it'd be best to just let him be for now."

"So now what", asked Raven.

"Well, seeing as how Kyd Wykkyd and Private Hive are gone", he began as he pointed over to where they were standing when Beast Boy first emerged (the two of them must've fled during my fight with BB), "now, we start cleaning this place up", said Robin as he stepped towards the rubble.

"Figures BB would throw a temper tantrum when it comes time to clean", muttered Cyborg.

"Nonsense", said the mayor from behind us. The five of us all turned back to see the pervy mayor step forward to greet us. "I've been meaning to have this building replaced with another store anyway, and now I have the perfect excuse. I offer you my gratitude, Ms. Starfire", he continued as he grabbed Starfire's hand and kissed it. I overheard Robin growl slightly upon seeing that.

"Let me guess", I began sarcastically, "you're gonna build a Victoria's Secret here, aren't you?" Upon hearing my comment, the mayor pulls away from Starfire for a moment and begins blushing as he straightened the collar on his shirt. I also noticed that as he did that, I caught him gawking at Starfire's midriff out the corners of his eyes. I responded to this by using my psychic powers to have Starfire and Cyborg switch places. The pervy little man jumped upon seeing Cyborg magically appearing where the alien girl once stood.

"Howdy", said Cyborg as he glared down at the mayor.

"*Clears throat, yes, well then", said the mayor awkwardly as he turned and walked back towards the emergency team across the street.

"Did anybody else hear a "no"", asked Cyborg sarcastically in reference to the mayor never answering my question, implying that my assumptions were correct.

"The scary part is, I didn't even read his mind. I was mostly just kidding", I said.

"Many of Earth's courting rituals are quite strange to me", began Starfire. "But that was just plain creepy, correct?"

"Yeah, he's pretty creepy", said Raven. "And that's coming from me."

 _Creepy and dark are two very different things, Raven_ , I said to her telepathically as I focussed my aura on her. She looked back at me and grinned in response to my comment. Our moment was interrupted upon hearing the mayor shouting through a megaphone moments later.

"People of Jump City, do not fret about the earthquake we have just endured. The damage inflicted upon our beloved town is minimal, and there have been no reports of any casualties."

"According to who", asked Cyborg aloud, though we weren't close enough for the mayor to hear us.

"Yeah, last time I checked head trauma, drowning, and cardiac arrest, among other things, qualified as injuries", I added.

"Let's hear what he has to say", said Robin. The mayor then continued.

"We must not be upset or in bad spirits due to Mother Nature's cruelty. We should instead be celebrating life, and the triumph of Mother Nature, as we've looked her in the eye today and said, "no, we will not accept this kind of treatment from you today"." I noticed several of the nearby citizens making comments in agreement with him, encouraging him to continue.

 _Wasn't the point of this little speech of his supposed to calm everybody down? Why is he bashing Mother Nature as if she's running against him for mayor_ , I asked myself in reference to the mayor's needlessly riled up speech.

"Now put on those happy faces", continued the mayor. "After all, it is St. Patrick's Day, so let us party", he said as he pointed to a red, white, and blue van-like truck with two men in black suits standing in front of it. One of the suits then lifts up a boombox and presses play, which resulted in some fist-pumping club music to begin blasting. At that moment, four women, all of which wearing nothing but extremely tiny and revealing green bikinis, walked out of the back of the truck and began dancing. The nearby citizens responded just like any other human would do in that situation, by cheering as they began to dance as well.

"Pffft, humans", I muttered as I rolled my eyes.

"So what, is he just starting the festival right here and now", asked Raven.

"It would appear so", said Robin.

"Who cares, Man", asked a now cheerful Cyborg as a compartment opened up from his torso. He then reached inside and pulled out Starfire's green wig from earlier and hands it back to her (she had taken it off when we got the call about the H.I.V.E. Five). "All I know is that I'm a lean, mean, and _green_ party ma-chine", said Cyborg as he began heading over to the partying crowd.

"Wait for me, please", called Starfire as she finished adjusting her wig. Robin then yelps as Starfire flies over to catch up with Cyborg, dragging him as she did so.

"Guess I had nothing better to do today", said Raven with a shrug as she began walking after the others. I chuckled at her comment as I began following her. I paused for a moment to look out towards the edge of the city. In the distance, I could see that Beast Boy, still a t-rex, had just entered the forest.

"Beast Boy", I said to myself as I reflected upon what had just happened moments ago. _I fear that Beast Boy's involvement with the Teen Titans intersects with that of the Elementals' involvement in this war against Jump City's villains_ , I thought to myself in reference to Beast Boy's pheromone-like scent being identical to the mysterious chemical I found in Professor Chang's hidden laboratory. It was then that I heard Kendall giggling inside my head, accompanied by the cooing of the nameless dove. _I must find out what role he plays in this conflict, before he or somebody else gets hurt, and time is running out._

"Wolfman", asked Raven, snapping me out of my inner thoughts. I then turned my attention to her. Raven then pulls the hood of her green cloak off of her head, revealing more or her pretty face and her lovely hair for everyone to see. "You coming?"

"Right behind you", I said as I walked up to join her. _I don't usually like parties, but for you, I'll make an exception_ , I thought to myself as if Raven could hear me.


	19. Odd Ducks

Eventually what was once a small group of partying people lead by our pervy mayor, turned into the entire city transforming into a chaotic jamboree of loud music, half-naked people, beads, booze, and green everywhere you looked. Fortunately for my sake, none of the other Titans took part in the constant boozing of everyone else, as I always hated having to babysit whenever my friends got drunk.

"Well, this is pointless", said Raven to me as we stood off to the side leaned against a wall. The others had all gone their separate ways to celebrate in their own way.

"Parties are always pointless", responded this random, creepy, goth guy (again with a terrible monotone) that stood on the opposite side of Raven.

"How long have you been standing there", I asked him.

"Wanna go and talk about it", asked the creepy guy to Raven, completely ignoring me. Raven simply shrugged as the creepy guy just sort of walks away, with Raven preparing to follow him. A small part of me was tempted to growl at the creepy guy for being a dick, but Raven, as she always does, brought me back down to Earth.

"Well you're coming, too, aren't you", asked Raven as she grabbed my hand and gently tugged on it, urging me to follow her. I chuckled a little as I nodded at her. I then awkwardly followed Raven through the crowd of people as she followed the creepy guy. Awkwardly because of the fact that the entire time we followed him, Raven was leading me by holding my hand, which naturally caused me to tense up as I was both walking with _myself_ and praying to God that my hands didn't start sweating. Eventually my unpleasant awkwardness was behind me as we rounded a corner and met up with a small group of three other goths (two guys and a girl), all of which were as enthusiastic as the guy we followed to get there, that is to say, not at all.

"'Sup, Raven", said one of the guys. The other two, who based on the fact that the guy's arm was around the girl's shoulder I assumed were a couple, were silent as the guy simply nodded at her, while the girl shrugged her shoulders as her face was buried into her phone. The three of them were sitting on the ground in a dark alleyway around a tiny bonfire they made in a hole in the concrete. To avoid having Raven sit on the ground, I noticed a wooden crate leaned against the brick wall, as it was the cleanest thing I could find. I then used my powers to levitate over towards Raven and place it front of her.

 _Still such a gentleman_ , said Raven to me telepathically with a small grin on her face. I grinned back at her as I followed the creepy guy's lead a grab a seat on the other side of her around the fire. The other girl was on my right leaned against her guy.

"So yeah, this is like, our group or whatever", began the creepy guy that we followed. "That's Shade", he said as he pointed to the other single guy. "They're Mourge and Nix", he continued as he referred to the boyfriend and girlfriend respectively. "And I'm Dark."

"As is his name is Dark", said Shade to me, as I guessed he noticed my somewhat confused look, which to be fair, I did have.

"Uh-huh", I began hesitantly. "Well, they call me the Wolfman." It was then that I heard Dark scoff under his breath, though I was unsure if anyone else caught it.

"Oh, so you're that dog dude that cut that dude's head off", said Morgue with a bit more energy in his voice, though not a whole lot. "Rad", he continued with a grin as he nodded his head at me.

"Uh, thanks", I responded awkwardly. I had no idea how to respond to that, as it seemed he was either congratulating me for killing Daniels, or he thought that I was cool because I killed him. It was creepy either way. It also didn't help that his girlfriend, Nix would occasionally pause from staring at her phone to look up and glare at me, as in she would look up and stare at me until I made eye contact with her, glare at me some more for several uncomfortable seconds, and then go back to looking at her phone. _What the Hell am I even dealing with here?_

"So, like, does the government give you extra because of your disability", asked Shade.

"Disability", I asked him.

"I mean like your illness. The lycanthropy or whatever you call it that makes you turn into a wolf."

"What are you even saying right now", I asked him as I was both confused and starting to get offended at the same time.

"Well I mean like the werewolf disease limits a lot of stuff you can do. Like your allergy to silver, your phobia of moonlight—", he continued before I interrupted him.

"My cravings for humans", I added in an aggressively sarcastic tone. Raven managed to calm me down a bit as she chuckled in response to my comment in response to Shade's extremely offensive comments.

"All I'm saying is that the government should being giving you extra due to your life-threatening illness."

"What", I began as I struggled to hold back a growl. Actually that was a bit of an understatement as I was very much tempted to just lunge at him altogether.

"Look, let's all just calm down for a moment—", began Raven before being interrupted by Starfire.

"There you are, Raven", she began as she floated over to us. "You must come see the launching of the colorful sky rockets", she continued in a gleefully excited tone. Raven then yelps as Starfire takes her by the arm and begins to fly away. As Raven is being yanked away, the world slows down again as I converse with Raven telepathically.

 _Wolfman, I—_

 _No, no, it's okay. I'll be fine, go enjoy the fireworks._

 _You sure?_

 _It's perfectly fine. Just go humor Starfire for now and I'll catch up later._

 _I'm really sorry for this_ , continued Raven just before the world around us sped up again. Once that happened, Raven and Starfire disappeared around the corner as the two of them headed off to go see the fireworks. Once they were gone, I turned back around towards the others for the anticipated conversation that Shade had set up.

"Well, she's gone", I began when nobody said anything, "if you've got any air to clear up, now's the time."

"Like, Dude, you've gotta chill", began Shade as he pulled off his backpack and began pulling something out of it. "Just because I brought up your illness—"

"If you call my mutation an illness or a disease one more time, then today may be the last day Raven ever hears from you", I growled at him.

"What's your problem, Bro", asked Morgue.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that quite literally everything you think you know about werewolves is completely wrong, not to mention offensive."

"Dude, like everyone knows that werewolves are allergic to silver", began Shade. "Ever watch a movie before?"

"I'd highly suggest that you wake the fuck up and get a clue, because if you actually had one you would've noticed that my freaking gauntlets are silver", I said to him as I raised one of my forearms. "And for the record, if you're basing your entire knowledge of werewolves on movies, then you won't last very long once you come across one even meaner than me."

"So like, are you an expert or something", asked Nix, still staring at her phone. I hesitated for a moment before responding, as I was at a loss for words.

"Wow, just wow. Amazing, just, it's absolutely amazing, how much my head is spinning from this conversation right now."

"Pfft, whatever, Man", said Dark.

"You got something to say, too", I asked him.

"I'm just gonna tell you as a courtesy to Raven, you might wanna back off", he said with a bit more aggression in his voice than Shade had, which said a lot as he went to great lengths to prevent himself from emoting in any way, shape, or form up until that point.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You see Raven doesn't hold back anything. She speaks her mind, and you don't have a shot with her. You're gonna wind up getting hurt, so do Raven a favor and back off before she has to say something and hurt your little feelings. And by the way, "the Wolfman"? For real, Dude? You think just because you call yourself that you're gonna be this big and scary creature of the night. I may not be a werewolf, but I'm much darker than you. I've got more Darkness in my little pinky than you have in your entire furry body."

"You cannot be serious", I said to him in disbelief as I was completely dumfounded by the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Dude, my name is Dark. I'm the only one here who truly understands Raven. I'm the one who's sensitive to her as a person, like how we waited until she left to pull out Shade's board", he said as he pointed over towards Shade, revealing that it was a Ouija Board that he pulled out of his backpack. "Plus I've know her longer than you. The two of us have history. You've got nothing. I may be only a human, but at least I actually am an expert on darkness. At least I'm not a poser like you." I took a moment to laugh for a moment before responding, as I could not believe what I was hearing.

"Okay, let me just say as a courtesy to you, I honestly don't give a damn. I don't give a damn about how you know Raven, I don't give a damn about how much darker you _think_ you are, and I don't give a damn that you feel threatened by me being a friend of Raven's. Why? Because at the end of the day it'll be Raven who decides. I'm here right now because Raven wanted me here, and if you have a problem with that, you take that up with her, because until she says otherwise, I'm not going anywhere. And even then, you can bet your favorite black mascara that I won't give up without a fight, Stanley" (I had read his mind briefly to learn his real name).

"My name is Dark", he corrected me.

"Riiiight, and you've got the audacity to call _me_ a poser", I asked him as I began to Branch Change. While still in my human form, I grew four extra arms, Giza's wings, Mamba's tail (which began rattling immediately), my left eye turned yellow, the right eye turned blue, six extra red eyes appeared on my forehead, my teeth sharpened, Panthera's mane appeared around my neck, and my human arms were replaced with black bear arms. Upon seeing the chimera-like mutant in front of them, the four humans gasped. I added onto my statement by surrounding myself with my aura. "Judging by the looks on your faces, it's obvious that you have no idea who you are dealing with. I am the Wolfman, _the_ creature of the night, the one-of-a-kind werewolf with reality-bending powers, the embodiment of shadow itself, the Elemental of Darkness. I don't have to be an expert on darkness, for I truly am the darkness. As for you", I began as I jabbed my four fingers at Dark's sternum, "you're the poser."

"Okay, Man, just take it easy", said Stanley (I refused to refer to him as Dark anymore) as he began to tremble a little. Even his voice at this point had lost its monotone, further driving my point about him being a poser.

"Take it easy, you say", I ask in Yami Bakura's voice as I flicked my serpent tongue at him. I was about to continue my rant, as I was enjoying striking fear into these ignorant humans, but then I got distracted by a familiar scent. It was that mud bath scent again that I first discovered when we investigated the cliff hiding Chang's lab. I then immediately turned towards the end of the alley, just in time to see a woman with black hair run by. Though she was in a hurry and didn't stay long, the breeze she left as she ran by gave off enough of a scent for me to confirm that she was the mutant I had been searching for.

"Well how fortunate for you", I said as I looked back down at Stanley. I then stepped away from him as I Changed back into my normal wolf form. "And by the way, in addition to it being extremely dangerous to be messing with that thing", I began as I motioned towards the Ouija Board, "Raven is a half-mutant, not a ghost, you idiot. If you want to avoid being politically insensitive, then I'd suggest you open up a book." Without another word I turned and began trotting to the end of the alleyway.


	20. Discrete, Yet Revealing

Once I reached the end of the alleyway, I began looking around at all the people. Because I only caught a glimpse of what the woman looked like, it was difficult to locate her in the crowd of humans, most of which wreaked of booze, tobacco smoke, and cannabis.

 _Ugh, humans_ , I thought to myself as I snorted. My nose was screaming due to being bombarded with so many unpleasant smells. It was then that I noticed a small breeze blowing, which allowed me to catch a whiff of the mutant's scent, which smell lovely after smelling all of the other unpleasant smells that were filling my nose. I then noticed some movement off to my right, as I noticed a woman with black hair running into a building with neon lights a couple blocks away. _There you are_ , I thought to myself as I ran towards the neon building. Upon reaching it, I noticed another disgusting scent.

This one wreaked of sweat, more booze, and semen, among other bodily fluids. What made the scent not only disgusting, but even more sketchy, was the fact that it came not only from the building I stood in front of, but the one next door to it on the right. The next door building was an 80s-style hotel which, based on how bad it looked and smelt, seemed more like two roach motels stacked on top of each other. It was dimly lit, and all of the windows facing the street were closed with the shades drawn down. In addition, though I doubt the humans could hear it over the blasting music in the streets, in each room, I mean quite literally each one, the sounds of creaking furniture, small banging on the walls, and moaning could be heard. Yeah, it was _that_ kind of a hotel, one called "Open Arms". This was confirmed based on the other sketchy building that I stood in front of. It was a strip club called "Pudding  & Pie".

 _Oh great_ , I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. I then made my way over to the front door, still in my wolf form, as I was rather ashamed that I even had to consider going inside. I then, very very hesitantly, opened the door and made my way inside. Waiting for me on the other side of the door, in a dimly lit lobby with pink wallpaper, was a large, male, bouncer, and a curvy woman wearing nothing but a thong and heart-shaped stickers on her nipples. _Double great_ , I thought to myself sarcastically.

"Does this look like a pet store to you", asked the bouncer as he lifted me up by the scruff of my neck as if I were a pup. "We don't have your kind of bitches in here, you mutt." A part of me wanted to claw him for that pun alone, as he thought I was just a stray dog.

"Oh really", I asked him just before I released myself from his grip, returning to my human form in the process.

"Ooooh, a Titan", said the naked woman with a gleeful tone. "We've never been honored to have one of you join us."

"Well don't get used to it, I'm here for business."

"Of course you are", she said as she began walking down the hall, urging me to follow her. I noticed that she added some extra hip movement to her walk, urging me to look at me more than I was. I also noticed that the hallway she was leading me down had framed pictures of several more naked women, each one with their names, or rather their stage names underneath. "Welcome to the "Pudding & Pie", where discretion is our guarantee.

"I'll hold you to that", I said sarcastically as I didn't want anybody knowing that I was ever there. The woman simply giggled in response. At the end of the hall, on a pedestal off to the side on the wall, was a large guest book, the kind you see in old school hotels. Next to it was a smaller record book.

"Simply write down what you desire. You have a maximum of six if you choose", said the woman as she trailed her hand along my shoulders. I shivered in response.

"Of six what", I asked her. She then reached in front of me and opened up the larger book, revealing the first page as it was littered with pictures of women, though these photos were clothed. Each photo came with a stage name, and a little bio next to it. It didn't take me long to realize that I was given the option to choose which girls I wanted to dance for me, among other things if the hostess and the nearby hotel was implying what I think it was. _Well this just got a little easier, sort of_ , I thought to myself as I flipped through the pages.

"Take all the time you need", said the hostess as she pinched my rear end, causing me to yelp and then growl at her. She simply giggled again as she backed away and waited patiently by the other wall.

 _Come on, where are you_ , I asked in my head as I searched for the mutant. Again, as I only caught a couple of glimpses of her, I had no clue as to who I was looking for other than the fact that she had black hair. Eventually I made it to a page towards the middle of the book that featured a page with only one girl on it, almost like the page was never finished but added to the book anyway. She was a young, rather skinny, white girl with black hair and brown eyes. According to the page, her name was Tasha, and she was known for "shaking the earth". _Gotcha_ , thought to myself as I was certain that she was the girl I was looking for. My assumptions were confirmed upon hearing someone else's voice in my head.

"Very good, Darling", she said. I was just about to turn around as if to see where the voice was coming from, but then something strange happened. In one of the blank spaces on the page, another picture magically appeared with another bio (something about liking horses or something, I don't know, I didn't read it). She was another young, white girl. She had long, flowing dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. She wore red lipstick, and her picture showed her with a wink. The bio said that her name was Keisha, but I knew that was bullshit as I knew who it _really_ was.

"These two", I said back to the hostess as I placed my hand on the page. She then walks back over to me to see the choices I made.

"Ah, Tasha, and...", she began as she didn't recognize the other girl. "She must be one of our newer acquisitions." I hated the way she talked about the dancers in that place. "Tasha seems to be running a little late right now", she began as she led me over to a closet, "but I'll be sure to send her your way after she's prepared herself for you. In the meantime, Keisha will keep you company." The hostess then pulls out and offers me a cloak, a masquerade mask, and a box of condoms. "Suit yourself", she said as I waved away the condoms, though I took the other items as I felt they couldn't hurt.

Once I put on the cloak and mask, the two of us made our way into the next room. Again, the place wreaked of booze, semen, and sweat, and it had pink wallpaper. There was a bar at the far end of the room, but the entire rest of it consisted of tent-like booths, each one with a stripper pole reaching out of the top of it as it connected to the ceiling like a support beam.

 _Well this is in no way suspicious_ , I thought to myself sarcastically. I could not believe that I was doing what I was about to do.

"I'll now show you to your room", said the hostess as I followed her to a tent on the far right. Inside the tent was a card table, a set of chairs, the pole, and an ice bucket with beer in it. "Please make yourself comfortable and enjoy your stay", said the hostess as she pinched me again before leaving me alone in the tent.

"Oh my God, what am I doing here", I asked myself as I set up the table. I had propped open a chair and placed it by the table, my back was turned to the tent's opening, when I felt somebody pinch my rear for the third time. At this point I was a bit on edge, so I responded by growling again as I spun around and grabbed her by her throat, though not hard enough to actually choke her. The situation became even more awkward upon me realizing that it was a different woman I held in my grasp. This one was 100% nude, with the exception of a heart-shaped pendant around her neck.

"Nando, Darling, still so tense as usual. The woman had a voice and speech pattern that sounded like a blend between Eva Gabor and Barbara Walters, and appearance-wise, looked to be about the age of twenty-three, though I knew better. "I always told you that you needed a woman's touch", she continued as she reached for my crotch. I tightened my grip slightly, urging her to keep her hands to herself, which only made her giggle as she didn't take me too seriously. We stood like that for a few more seconds before I had calmed down enough to release her.

"Hello, Kendall", I said to her.

"Didn't you hear? In here I'm Keisha, Darling."

"Do I look like I'm in the mood for your games, Kendall", I asked in irritation.

"Not really. You look more like a Tuxedo Mask cosplayer."

"Very funny", I said as I took off my cloak and tossed it to her. "Cover up, will 'ya?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, said no man ever", she teased as she puts on the cloak and sits down in the chair I propped. I then made my way over to the table and grabbed another chair before sitting across from her. After sitting down, I found myself glaring at her in the eye. "Somebody's paying extra attention to my eyes", she teased again as she flickered her eyes at me.

"Don't flatter yourself, Honey. I'm here for business."

"Perhaps, or maybe I don't look the part", she said as grabbed her pendant with one hand and waved her other hand over it as she casted a non-verbal spell. The pendant then glows white for a brief moment, as Kendall's ivory skin starts to turn gray, and her dirty blonde hair starts to shorten in length and turn purple. This continued until eventually the image of Kendall was instead replaced by the image of a naked Raven, though still covered in the cloak (thank God).

"Enough", I growled at her, after unintentionally gawking at her for a few moments. Though I was well aware that it was truly Kendall sitting across from me, she looked enough like Raven in that moment to get me to _react_ just as if she was Raven.

"What's wrong", asked Kendall in Raven's voice. "Isn't this what you want", she continues as she implies that she was about to remove the cloak. I slammed on the table in response with my fist. "Hahaha, I'm only teasing, Darling. Who knew the beast in you finally found itself a Belle?"

"Kendall", I warned her. In response to my warning she became a little more serious, though still in her needlessly happy demeanor.

"Andre tells me that you've been looking for me. May I ask why?"

"Don't play coy with me, Kendall. You know exactly why I called you here."

"Oh yes, the vision. The one that drove you to nearly drown in a bathroom sink", she said with a chuckle.

"Glad you think that was funny."

"Oh come now, Darling. I'm merely trying to lighten the mood a bit given your circumstances."

"Then stop flirting and tell me what's going on. I know you must know something, because for the past several days you and two others have been haunting my head."

"I've already told you your future. The lone wolf of darkness will die—", she began.

"Yeah yeah, look, I got that. But there has to be more. Please, Kendall. I'm desperate. I have little to no time left, three of the Elementals have been kidnapped, and the remaining two are in hiding with the women and kids. If I truly am to have a doomed future, can you at least tell me what will be the death of me? Will the others have a fighting chance? Can the others be saved before my time is up?"

"Will she ever know how you feel about her", asked Kendall as she implied that I was curious about that as well, which to be fair, I was. I hesitated as I didn't know what else to say. "Sadly I cannot reveal all to you", said a now more serious Kendall. "All I can do, is perhaps give you some form of clue."

"How so?"

"Predicting the future isn't as cut and dry as you think it is. Sometimes a vision is clear and precise."

"I'm aware of that", I said to her as my brown eyes turned blue, in reference to the fact that she was involved when that ghost cat was haunting me back in South Dakota.

"While others", she continued as if ignoring my comment, "are vague and shrouded in mystery. In your case, your future is one shrouded in shadow. Never before have I come across a future as complex as yours. You're so much more than you realize."

"That says a lot considering what I already know about my past. So what kind of clues can you give me?"

"Only what the shadows in your soul will allow me to reveal about you", she says as she sticks out her hands on the table in front of her with her palms up. I responded by following her lead and offering her my hands as she grabbed them and placed them on top of her hands. This wasn't anything new to me, as I had witnessed her do this several times before. According to her, she was "reading my soul", and apparently that's what allowed her to predict the future, though she does get the occasional random vision thrown at her by some unknown force like when she told me of her vision via that fortune cookie. In those cases, it was kinda like how Raven Symone told the future from her old Disney Channel show.

Once she held my hands in her hands, her aura, which was a ghostly white, began to surround her body, which then immediately encouraged my purple aura to surround my body. She then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Upon exhale, she lowers her head forward until her forehead is resting on the table. She remains that way for a few moments, and then lifts her head back up, still with her eyes closed. She then opens her eyes, revealing that her usually hazel eyes were replaced with iris-less eyes that had a sort of smokey look to them, almost like she was possessed. She then began making her predictions in a serious voice.

"This is difficult. I see problems."

"Take your time, Kendall. Do the best you can. What do you see?"

"Problems. I see problems. No, a single problem, one a child can solve without a calculator."

"Like a math problem?"

"Yes. The final result is "3". I see a dark triangle. No, a trinity. Yes, a dark trinity that the ultimate evil covets."

"Any chance you can describe this evil?"

"No, but I can sense that it is familiar. This evil is ancient, almost as old as time itself. It intertwines with your past, manipulates the present, and threatens your future. It, it, it's too great. The evil that's coming is too, powerful", she began in a sort of panicky tone.

"Kendall, Kendall, listen to me", I said to her calmly, "it's okay. You've told me plenty about this evil. Let's just move on. You said that the end result to the math problem was "3". What else can you tell me? How does it begin?" Kendall takes another deep breath before continuing.

"I see a board, of a game. The board is checkered, with eight pieces. They're pawns."

"A chess board?"

"Yes, but this game is not chess. The pawns in this game are different. They're the beginning of the problem."

"How many are there?"

"There are six of them."

"Perhaps the Elementals?"

"No, there's eight of them."

"Are any of them the Elementals?"

"I, I'm not sure. I can sense that they're close. They're in the city. Wait, two of them left again."

"They did?"

"And now they're back. And now three of them have left the board. And now they're back."

"What does that mean?"

"Perhaps it is in relation to the problem. The beginning number is "8", and the ending number is "3".

"So it's a subtraction problem?"

"Yes, for there are five obstacles. No, trials. The Trials of the Dark Trinity."

"Can you tell me what they are?"

"Only that your fifth trial, involves the presence of an old enemy, one that differs from the ultimate evil."

"What about the eight pawns? What can you tell me about them?"

"These pawns will play a great role in your future. Each one is necessary in order to complete the five trials. Each one impacts the future of mankind."

"Can you identify any of them?"

"I cannot. I can only tell you what each represents. I see an Alpha, a True Alpha. A leader from the most unlikely of places. He will rise up when the challenge arises. I see misery. A lost soul that travels among the crowd day by day whose heart is in pain. It is riddled with guilt, and loss, and shame. I see a soldier, one with battle scars. He is the ultimate warrior whose strength alone is legendary. I see a wanderer, one who seeks a companion. This wanderer is strong and agile, but feels great heartache within as they fight for self-worth. I see a king—", she began.

"A king", I asked her as the word "king" grabbed my immediate attention.

"A hidden king, one whose merit has yet to be revealed. This king is noble, he is brave, he is a survivor, he comes from a dark past."

"Really", I said in response. _Could it be that I am the King that she speaks of_ , I thought to myself. Kendall then continued.

"I see a queen, one who is lost. She searches for the true queen. I see a lord, a dark lord. This lord is known for bringing destruction and shadow wherever he reigns. And finally, I see, I see—", said Kendall as she sort of trailed off for a moment.

"What? What do you see, Kendall?"

"I see an omen, a dark omen spawned from the ultimate evil. Its power is unmeasurable, and it continues to grow day by day." Kendall then gasps as if she had been holding her breath the entire time. Immediately afterwards, a new voice escaped Kendall's mouth as she spoke.

"Hello again, my prince", said the wandering spirit I kept running into.

"What do you want this time? Why have you taken over Kendall? Has taking over my head lost its thrill?"

"I have entered your friend's body in order to assist with foretelling your future."

"Oh really? And how do plan to do so?"

"Do you recall the instructions I gave to you when last we met?"

"I do. You told me I had to bring some jewel to some rainbow."

"I told you to bring the Gem to where the rainbow was formed, where you will find the stone, and the answers you seek."

"Any chance you're going to tell me where this gem, rainbow, or stone is?"

"No, but I can tell you that in three days another spirit that will. That said, you must beware, for this spirit lurks in the shadows, searching for lost souls that it can use to cross over into your world."

"Three days, evil spirit, get the clues I need, got it. Thanks for the tip."

"Very good. Farewell, my prince. We shall meet again", she said as Kendall's white aura slowly began to disappear, as did mine. Kendall then lets out a large exhale as her eyes returned to normal, as did her voice.

"Thank you, Kendall", I said to the witch as I began to stand up. It was then that I noticed that somebody was about to approach our tent. In response to this, Kendall quickly rises out of her chair and makes her way over to me. Once there, she straddles me as she reaches around the back of my neck with one arm. "What're you doing?"

"Grab my hips", she says to me as she places one of my hands on ones of her hips with her free hand. She then removes the cloak, revealing her naked body once again, and begins grinding on me. It was then that I noticed that the hostess from before was opening the tent as she entered. Having now understood was Kendall was doing, I grab her other hip, adding onto the illusion that _that_ was what we had been doing the entire time we were in the tent.

"My apologies for Tasha's tardiness", said the hostess. "Her preparations took longer than we expected. Please accept our apologies by accepting our gift of a free _appointment_ , on the house", she said as she held up a key with a number on it. "Keisha, why don't we take this to a more comfortable setting while we wait for Tasha." Kendall responded by dismounting me and walking over to the hostess. She then proceeded to make out with her for a brief moment as she slowly make her way to take the key from her.

 _Oh for God's sake_ , I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes at the too extremely horny women. _I guess it could be worse. I mean they nearly as bad as Kitten_ , I thought in reference to Killer Moth's nightmare of a daughter. Eventually Kendall managed to snatch the key from the hostess.

"Sorry, Hon, but he's mine", she said to her. "But I'll be back once Tasha shows up", she says as she grabs her hips and kisses her once more. The hostess, pleased with her answer leaves the tent again, confident that Kendall would come back to see her. Kendall then looks back at me as I glared at her with a look of disbelief on my face. "What? I play for both teams."

"Yeah, but was any of that necessary", I asked her as I stood up and walked over to her with the cloak. I then traded it to her for the key. "I take it this is for that sketchy hotel next door?"

"I'd suggest you get a move on before Tasha beats you there."

"And where are you going?"

"In case you didn't notice, Darling, I've got a hot date tonight. Don't wait up", she said as she tossed me back the cloak and headed for the tent's exit.

"Um, you dropped something", I called to her.

"Don't need it", she teased as she walked out. I made it to the tent's exit just in time to see Kendall enter a private room, where supposedly the hostess was waiting for her. As I put the cloak back on in headed for the door, I passed by a squad of women, all of which wearing varying degrees of lingerie, heading for a much larger tent accompanied by Jump City's mayor. Fortunately for my sake, who either didn't recognize me, or didn't notice me as his mind was elsewhere at the time.

"Oy, I've had about all I can take from this place", I said to myself as I headed for the door.

"Enjoy yourself, Sir", asked the bouncer sarcastically as I began to open the door, as if anyone would ever give a negative answer under normal circumstances. I noticed a tiny look of shock on his face upon me giving him my honest answer just before I closed the door behind me.

"No, I did not."


	21. Dog Fight

With the room key in hand, I cautiously made my way to the "Open Arms" hotel, as I didn't want anybody, even disguised, to see me go inside. Once inside, the hotel looked just as bad on the outside as it did on the inside. The chairs and seats in the lobby were covered in dust, among other things, and the phone on the far left wall had its cord cut.

"How the Hell is this place still in business", I muttered to myself.

"Hello, and welcome to "Open Arms"", said an unenthusiastic voice from behind the front counter. She hadn't looked up at me yet as her face was buried in a magazine.

 _Oh no, not her_ , I thought to myself as the woman at the counter was that same angry Barbie doll blonde I kept bumping into. How and why she landed a job like that, I had no idea. As I walked up to the counter to check in, she puts down her magazine and fires a few more rude words towards me.

"Uh, I know you don't think I'm here for you, Zorro", she said in reference to my getup.

"Don't flatter yourself", I said to her in response, though I altered my voice to avoid being recognized. Since it was obvious that she didn't care to question who walked in and out of the hotel, I made my way upstairs to find my room. I was on the second floor in Room 249. "Guess this is it", I said to myself as I saw my room on the far end of the hallway I was in. As I walked over to the door, the sounds of moaning, slamming furniture, and all kinds of other sexual sounds seeped through the paper thin walls.

Eventually I made my way to my room and opened the door with my key. Inside the room was a single bed with blue sheets. My room in particular had no curtains, no t.v., and the only other pieces of furniture in the room other than the bed were the desk with a lamp, and a single chair in the corner of the room.

"Oh yeah, _totally_ what I had in mind when I pictured my first time", I said to myself as I closed the door behind me. Upon doing so, I noticed a couple of cockroaches on the floor hovered around a rotten apple. _"Beat it"_ , I growled at them. In response, the two large insects scampered across the room, disappearing through a hole in the wall leading into the other room. I then walked over to the apple and kicked it off to the side. The very fact that I was in that room was insultingly aggravating.

As I waited in the hotel room for Tasha to show, I found myself pacing back and forth nonstop. I was a nervous wreck. Even though I had no intention of sleeping with whoever the Hell Tasha was, she didn't know that. As far as she knew I was just another "customer" paying to have sex with her. Between that and the fact that I had never been with a woman long enough to even consider having sex with her yet, my anxiety levels were through the roof.

 _Okay, Fernando, calm down. You're just here to ask some questions, find out some information, and get the fuck outta dodge. Simple right? Then what the Hell am I so nervous for? Okay, maybe I should go over what I learned today. Let's see, there's the Dark Trinity, five trials, and eight pawns. The eight pawns are the True Alpha, Misery, the Soldier, the Wanderer, the Hidden King, the Lost Queen, the Dark Lord, and the Omen._ I then randomly found myself fantasizing about seeing Raven naked again, which made the whole situation even worse as I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

"Dammit, Kendall", I said aloud as if I was expecting her to hear me. Feeling defeated I sit down at the edge of the bed. "This is just perfect. First I'm wanted for murder, then I pretend to be a terrorist, then I get caught in a gun fight, then I nearly drown for the fourth fucking time, then I get sexually harassed by a witch I've known since middle school, I'm now sitting in this shady ass hotel room waiting for a prostitute who several people think I'm paying to have sex with, and to top it all off, now I'm gonna be forever haunted by the image of seeing Raven naked. What the fuck else could happen at this point?

It was at that moment my collar began to beep again. The suddenness of my collar in that filthy, empty room was enough to cause me, already anxious and nervous out of my mind, to yelp as I leapt off the bed, falling onto the floor as I did so.

"Master Wolf. Are you present", asked Fixit from the other end of my collar.

"What is it, Fixit", I asked in a slightly aggressive tone for scaring me half to death.

"Are you alright, Sir", asked Geoffrey. "Sensors are indicating large amounts of cardiac distress."

"What the? Geoffrey? Since when were you on this line?"

"Your cybernetic friend Fixit made contact with the Tower in response to the earthquake." Upon hearing him say that I was reminded about the moths.

"Oh shit, is Lola okay? And what of Nightmare, and Grinder, and—", I began in a panicky tone, still riled up from my nerves.

"The swarm is safe with no injuries to speak of", said Fixit. Upon hearing him say that I let out a huge sigh of relief. "In other news, I feel I should inform you that the starting point of that last magnitude originated somewhere near your current location."

"I know. I'm currently investigating that as we speak. I think I may have I.D.'d the mutant that assisted Red X with Chang's cannon."

"Well done, Master."

"Sir, I also have some news to report", said Geoffrey. "Our sensors also indicate that one of your comrades is approaching your location. We are unable to identify which of the Titans it is, as the signal is being accompanied by large amounts of radiation."

"Radiation", I asked. "Wonder who that could—", I began before trailing off. The lock to the room's door began to turn as somebody from the other side began turning over a key. In response to this I return to sit on the bed, turning off my collar as I did so as I didn't want to risk being heard conversing to the two others on the opposite end. Once the door was unlocked and finally opened, in came Tasha, barefoot and with a white robe on. She also carried a duffle bag with her, with what I assumed was a change of clothes inside.

"Uh, hi", she said nervously. "I'm Tasha, and I'll be, "accompanying" you this evening", she said with a gulp as she forced herself to give me her scripted greeting. It was at that moment that I understood why Tasha's place in the guest book from before was the way it was. It was clearly Tasha's first time being booked for an "appointment", as she was as nervous as I was.

"Hello, Tasha. I'm—", I began. Before I could even give her a fake name, Tasha's nerves got the best of her as she interrupted me.

"Look, can we just get this started? I was told that I should have you, well "finish" as the fireworks started going off", she said as she awkwardly dropped her bag and walked over to meet me on the bed. Again, though I had no intention of having sex with her, the very mentioning of "finishing" with her got me to sweat a little as my heart began to race, though not in a good way.

 _Come on, you idiot! Say something_ , I scolded myself in my head. I was completely frozen. I couldn't even move, let alone speak. As I sat there on the bed, unable to move, Tasha made her way over to me and dropped her robe, revealing the lingerie she was wearing underneath.

Again, under normal circumstances, no guy would complain, I mean Tasha was in no way an unattractive young woman. However, I wasn't there for her, I was there for information. Plus, my heart belonged to Raven, and even though she wasn't my mate, it still felt wrong sleeping with another woman. The situation only became more awkward upon my brain punishing me by randomly inserting the image of naked Raven yet again as I awkwardly started to _react_. There was no way to hide it or cover it up. Tasha saw my erection just as clearly as I saw her in the lingerie she was wearing.

 _Oh my God, this was a mistake. Get me out of here._ To this day I don't know which was more pathetic, the fact that the idea of me having sex with Tasha scared me, or the fact that my reaction to it left me frozen with fear, as Tasha in theory could've had her total way with me at that point due to me being too frightened to move. As I began panicking in my head, Tasha walked over and straddled me just as Kendall had earlier.

"Uh, hi", she said to me. I simply gave an awkward creeper grin in response as I failed to verbally respond. She then positioned herself forward towards me, enough to where _myself_ grazed against _herself_ through my pants. I couldn't even pretend that it didn't happen as she gasped upon feeling it herself. In response to hearing her, my body sort of pulses in a panic as I instinctively fall backwards, bringing Tasha with me as she was now straddled over my torso.

 _God dammit!_ Thinking that I was going to go through with _it_ , Tasha then reaches behind her back and starts unhooking her bra. She had just finished pulling it off when someone kicked in the door, scaring the dog shit out of the both of us as Tasha leapt off of me and ran towards the wall to my left by the bathroom. _Oh thank God_ , I thought to myself with my eyes rolled towards the back of my head. The relief alone after all that internal stress felt like its own orgasm. My sudden relief disappeared however upon remembering that somebody had just broken into the room. This caused me to panic for a different reason as the intruder had a very strong chemical-like smell.

"Oh my God, Beast Boy", gasped a startled Tasha as she covered her breasts with her arms. Beast Boy shrieked upon seeing Tasha's breasts as he tried to cover his face, though he instinctively still looked through his fingers.

"Oh my gosh! Terra, I'm so sorry", said a panicky Beast Boy.

"Whoa whoa whoa", I began as I shot up. " _You're_ Terra", I asked to Tasha.

"Huh? Wolfman", asked Beast Boy to me, now with intense anger in his voice. My disguise didn't fool him. " _You_ brought Terra to this place?!"

"Uh-oh", I said to myself as I watched Beast Boy's rage get the better of him as he began to morph. The resulting animal that stood before me and Tasha was a large, canine creature that on two legs stood at approximately thirteen feet tall. However, due to the ceiling of the hotel room not being that tall, the creature was forced to stand on all fours, which ironically made him look even scarier, as he stood at nearly seven feet on all fours, and he had a stance similar to that of an ape, as his arms were longer than his legs.

That said, his hands had tripled in size, and they had long claws at the ends of his fingers. His arms and ribs had a few black stripes across his green fur, and on the back of his neck and tiny head (at least in comparison to the rest of his body) was a long mullet-like mane that stretched all the way back to the bottoms of his shoulder blades. It was also worth pointing out that his mane was kinda weird in that regard as it wasn't connected to the fur on his back, but rather it hung from the back of his head like a freakishly long, ponytail. And once again, he gave off that weird chemically smell that had mixes of canine and primate in it, only now it was clear as to why he had that smell. Though this was the first time I met a member of this breed, it was clear what animal Beast Boy had become. He was a werewolf.

"Well, that explains a lot", I said sarcastically in response to Beast Boy's savage-like behavior earlier that day. Beast Boy responds with a roar, which sounded a little more high-pitched than I expected considering his size, as he lunges forward and slashes at me, leaving the bed sheets in ribbons as I managed to jump out of the way at the last minute as I Changed into my wolf form.

"Beast Boy, stop", screamed Terra as she attempted to calm the green Titan down. Beast Boy, completely ignoring Terra at this point, lunges at me again as I charge forward at him. Taking full advantage of the fact that I was a dwarf compared to him, Beast Boy bulldozes through me as the two of us crash through the window and plummet towards the ground below. Beast Boy fell into the dumpster that waited for us in the alley outside, while I fell onto the fire escape, groaning in pain upon landing.

As I rose onto my paws, Beast Boy leaps out of the dumpster, landing next to it as he turned back and looked up at me. Before I could even say anything to him, Beast Boy then lifts up the dumpster and throws it up towards me, destroying the fire escape as I leapt off of it in my armored form, letting the metal railing fall to the ground.

"Beast Boy", cried Terra from the window, now in her robe.

"Terra, get back", I shouted to her. While I was distracted, Beast Boy leaps off of the brick wall and tackles me out of the air, pinning me onto my back as he bit down on my shoulder. I roared in pain as I began slashing at Beast Boy's abdomen, though he seemed unfazed by it as it only caused him to bite down harder. Upon realizing that I wasn't getting anywhere, I began charging my aura. "Morado Laser", I shouted in pain as I blasted Beast Boy off of me, taking to the air once I was free. The green werewolf then, after flying up into the air a few yards, crashes in the middle of the street as a car screeches to a halt after almost running him over.

Beast Boy was quick to respond as he rises to his hind legs, resting his paw on the hood of the car as he picked himself up. The two skater boys in the car simply screamed in fear upon seeing the giant green monster towering over them. Beast Boy then looks down at the car, and then turns back to me as I came in for a landing a few feet up the street from him. He then looks back down at the car, as he grabs it with his paws.

"Beast Boy, no", I warned him with a growl. Beast Boy then growls in response as he lifts the car over his head, the two passengers still inside. "Don't do it", I warned him again. Ignoring my warnings, Beast Boy hurls the car at me with a mighty roar. I managed to catch the car, but Beast Boy took advantage of the situation by rushing and launching himself at me as I caught it. With no time to think, I swing the car at Beast Boy. The green wolf yelps in pain as I knocked him out of the air with the back of the car I was holding. "Sorry", I said to the two passengers as I placed the car back on the ground before rushing back over to Beast Boy, who was still on the ground recovering from my attack.

Before he had the chance to rise onto his feet, I flew over and bit down onto the mane on the back of his head. I then shot into the air, hoisting Beast Boy by his mane as I did so as I attempted to get him out of the city before he harmed anyone else. I hoped that the pain from hanging by his mane, which in his case was the equivalent of a woman hanging by her hair, would be enough to either calm him down, or keep him immobilized enough for me to take the fight to the forest outside of town, which seemed to work for a few moments. However, I immediately regretted my decision of flying high into the air as a huge, green explosion blasted in front of me, somewhat blinding me as I came to a halt to rub my eyes.

 _Fuck! I forgot about the fireworks_ , I thought as I looked down at the city below. Dozens upon dozens of fireworks were all lined up and ready to fire, as they were all in the process of being lit. _Oh, fuck me_ , I thought as I began taking off like a jet in an attempt to outrun the fireworks as they began exploding around us. To make matters worse, Beast Boy hanging by his mane only pissed him off further as he managed to swing from it and land on top of me again. "You are _way_ to big for a piggyback ride", I growled at him as I struggled to fly correctly with him weighing me down.

Beast Boy, still driven by primal rage, ignored the dangerous situation he was in as he continued to slash and bite at me, making it even more difficult to concentrate. His lashing out got so out of control that eventually I was forced to stop in the middle of the midair minefield and try to fight him off of me. As the two of us wrestled with each other in midair, eventually one freakishly huge firework shot up from underneath us and exploded on contact with us. The two of us yelped as we were shot out of the sky, crash-landing somewhere in the forest as we broke every tree branch we came in contact with on the way down.

"Oh, man, that was not fun", I groaned to myself as I shook out my fur, only to be attacked by Beast Boy again as he swatted me across the face with the back of his paw. His attack was powerful enough to send me crashing through a tree as the giant pine fell to the ground. As I rose to my paws, I realized that my two wolf forms weren't going to be enough to take him down. He was _far_ too big to try and outmuscle as a wolf, so I went for something bigger. "Guess this is as good a time as any", I growled as I began to Change again. Gizamon, golden-armor-digivolve to….", I began out loud, as I figured Beast Boy wouldn't care enough to comment on my nerdy reference, "….BeastLobomon", I roared as I revealed my beast form, as in the animal I became was one that resembled the Beast from the respective Disney movie. Though Beast Boy wasn't himself at the time, I found a new sense of hope as I noticed him cock his head upon seeing my beast form, as if he recognized the strange animal that stood in front of him. This let me know that the real Beast Boy was in there struggling to regain control.

However, Beast Boy's moment of confusion was short-lived as he lunges at me again soon after with a roar. Though he was still nearly three feet taller than I was, at a height of ten feet tall, I was in a more capable position to fight back, as I was now able to inflict just as much damage to him as he was to me. Our battle felt like the two of us were in the middle of a war zone, as green fireworks continued to blow up above us as we simultaneously destroyed large portions of the surrounding forest as we fought. Helpless birds and other wildlife scattered for their lives as we knocked over each and every tree unfortunate enough to get in our way. Eventually, after what felt like nearly two hours, our fight finally took a turn as I started noticing Beast Boy was beginning to lose stamina.

"Beast Boy, stop this. Enough is enough", I growled to him in between breaths. The two of us were exhausted as we stood in front of each other, staring each other down. Beast Boy then responded by rushing at me again, which I made quick work of as I used his momentum to throw him into another tree face-first, which of course naturally caused it to knock over. This time however, Beast Boy began whining a canine whine as he rose to his hind paws with a limp. He was seriously hurt, but still wanted to fight. "I am not your enemy, Beast Boy", I said to him as I returned to my human form in an attempt to calm him down. He instead took it as an opportunity to rush at me.

"I don't want to hurt you", I growled to him as I managed to catch his jaws with my hands and was now struggling to keep them open. "Don't make me do something I don't want to", I pleaded. I didn't want to fight anymore. Partially it was because I was exhausted, but it was mostly because Beast Boy was now becoming a danger to himself as well, as his rage was stretching the limits of his body _way_ too thin. Beast Boy then snarls through his open jaws as he pushes back against me, causing me to slide backwards slowly as I struggled to push back against him. "Beast Boy", I shouted to him as I continued to plead to him. I was just about to give up and use my Elemental powers on him when help came in the form of a large boulder as it fell from the sky, landing on top of Beast Boy's head as it split in two. The giant canine whined again as he stumbled around dizzily for a few moments, just before falling onto his back, finally losing consciousness. It was then that I noticed who had saved me.

She wore a long-sleeve black shirt, though it was still short enough to reveal her midriff, and yellow shorts. She also wore a pair of brown army-like boots, brown gloves, and a brown fanny pack-like thing around her waist that she wore like a belt. As her hair blew in the wind, I noticed it shift a tad, which caused her to adjust it onto her head, revealing to me that she was wearing a wig this entire time. I was just about to thank her for her help, but then she turns her back towards me. Her body then becomes encased in her yellow aura as she tears a huge chunk of the earth out of the ground as it levitated in front of her. She then jumps onto it and prepares to fly away.

"Terra, wait", I called to her as I Changed into Gizamon again and flew after her. When she wouldn't slow down or stop I was forced to teleport in front of her. Upon seeing me appear in front of her, Terra hesitated due to be startled, but then lets out a scream as she fires her aura at me, pushing me back a bit as it slammed into me.

"Stay away from me", she said as she tried to fly away again. I responded to this by teleporting again, though this time I reappeared underneath the chunk of earth she was riding on. I then used my werewolf strength to destroy it as I Shadow Punched it into rubble, causing Terra to start falling. Before she has a chance to recover, I fly over and scoop her up as I take her back to the forest where Beast Boy laid unconscious. "Put me down! Let go of me", she demanded as she flailed her fists and legs at me.

"Knock it off! Will you calm down", I asked as I struggled to fly correctly as she struggled. This continued for a few moments until eventually my inability to fly straight caused us to crash into the ground. "I'm getting sick of this", I groaned as I rose onto my feet in my human form.

"Who taught you how to fly, a kamikaze", asked Terra aggressively.

"Hey, you're the one who started going bat-shit insane while I tried to fly", I growled at her. Terra then rises to her feet and makes a break for the city. "Hey, wait", I said as I ran after her. Once I was close enough, I tackled her, causing the two of us to roll over each other as we rolled down a hill. Once we reached the bottom, I managed to use the momentum to pin her on her back as I straddled myself on top of her. I then used my dark powers to keep her from using her powers, much like how I did with Starfire when I first made it to Jump City.

"Get off of me! Let me go!"

"Look, you owe me some answers. And I'm not leaving without 'em."

"Help", shouts Terra as if she was screaming, "rape", which forced me to grow an extra arm as I covered her mouth with it.

"Would you calm the fuck down, please?" I waited until Terra stopped trying to scream before I took her hand away.

"What do you want", she asked with a terrified, yet irritated look in her eye.

"You're not scared of me, are you?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Unbelievable", I began as I rolled my eyes. "You do realize that like ten minutes ago I was about to bang you, right?"

"Gee, do you talk to all the ladies like that", she asked sarcastically as she squinted her eyes at me.

"Only the ones that're working my last nerve", I said as I got in her face and growled.

"If you two kiss, I'm gonna puke", said somebody off to the side of us. The two of us then turned to see that Red X was sitting in a tree, watching the two of us. "Am I interrupting? 'Cause you two look like you need another hotel room." Terra and I then looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, just before scampering away from each other as we tried to play off what we were caught doing.

"What're you doing here", asked Terra to Red X.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing", he replied as he leapt out of the tree and walked over to meet us.

"I have my reasons."

"Well I have mine."

"Well the both of you better start talking, because you both owe me some answers", I said to the two of them.

"Look, Dude, what do you want from us", asked a now irritated Terra.

"Don't play coy with me. I'm here because I know that you two destroyed Chang's cannon last week.

"Oh, so that's the _real_ reason you made an "appointment" with me", asked Terra as if she was offended that I had no initial intentions of sleeping with her.

"Are you seriously offended by that", asked Red X.

"Shut up", retorted Terra. "And at what point were you going to tell me that you weren't there to have sex", she asked to me in reference to the fact that the two of us got so far into the dirty deed that Terra had grinded me and took off her bra before being interrupted by Beast Boy. I stated blushing a little as I had no answer for her question.

"Wait, you were serious? You're a prostitute", asked Red X.

"I said, "shut up"!"

"You'll have to forgive Fernando", said Kendall as she walked over to join us out of seemingly nowhere. She was wearing a long, black dress which honestly made her look like a human's clichéd depiction of what a witch looks like. However, truthfully I was just thankful that she was finally wearing some clothes. "The boy's a bit, inexperienced."

"So, is that why you had to resort to prostitutes", asked X to me.

"Fuck you", I growled.

"Temper, temper. No wonder you've never gone to bed with a woman."

"Oh, like you're "Mr. Popular"", I retorted to him.

"Unlike you, I don't need to pay floozies to sleep with me."

"I'm right here, you know", said an offended Terra. "God, men are such pigs."

"Hey, don't look at me", began Red X, "I'm not the one who tricked you into getting naked for me in a shady hotel room."

"I didn't trick her, you jackass! And I'd like to see how well _you_ can function with a pair of breasts in your face!"

"He's right, you know", began Kendall. "He damn near exploded when I implanted an image of Raven being naked into his mind."

"Not helping, Kendall", I growled at her.

"So what? First it was Raven, and now me? Is Starfire next, or have you seen her naked already", asked Terra as if implying that I was determined to see every female Titan naked as if I made a bucket list.

"Look, I didn't mean for things to go as far as they did. I called you there tonight so I could talk to you about Chang's cannon and why you helped us, why the both of you helped us", I added in reference to Red X.

"Forget it", said Terra. "I'm not talking to you tonight, or any other night", she said as she began to storm off. I couldn't allow her to walk away. I needed answers, and I was desperate, so I wound up resorting to something that to this day, I am not proud of.

"Terra, you and I both know that I saw _them_ , and I touched _it_. Now if you'd like to keep that between us, I'd suggest you get off your high horse and march back over here." Upon hearing my threat, Terra stops dead in her tracks and glares back at me as her face begins to blush. She then reluctantly marches back over to the group.

"Ass Hat", she muttered to herself as she crossed her arms.

"Okay, now that all that is out of the way, please, the both of you, tell me who you are. Why did you help us? What are you still doing here in the city? What are your connections to the Titans? And what can you tell me about Chang, and Plasmus, and whatever other villains are involved in all the bullshit that's been going on?"

" _Other_ villains", asked Red X. "What exactly have you gotten yourself into?"

"That's what I'm asking you."

"The Trinity", said Kendall, which grabbed all of our attentions. It was then I noticed that her eyes got that smokey look again.

"What about it, Kendall", I asked.

"The True Alpha, Misery, and the Dark Lord, they are all present."

"Wait, they are?" Before I could ask any more questions, Kendall's eyes returned to normal. "Who is who?"

"Unfortunately that's something you still have to find out for yourself." I roared in ager upon hearing her say that.

"Find what out? What exactly is going on", asked Red X as he, too was now anxious for answers. He got interrupted upon two more guests flying in to join us.

"Master Wolf", cried Fixit on the back of Lola as she came in for a landing next to me. "Are you alright, Master? I heard distress in your roar."

"I'm fine, Fixit", I said to him as I petted Lola, who as always was happy to see me.

"You actually kept those things", asked Red X in disbelief. Lola responded to his rude comment with a hiss.

"Can we just get to the point already", asked a now anxious Terra. "What's this about a Trinity?"

"I speak of the Trials of the Dark Trinity", said Kendall. Upon hearing her response, Terra gasped, with a look in her eyes as if she saw a ghost.

"You know something, don't you", I asked to Terra. "Well", I asked again when she hesitated to respond. "Tell me what you know, Terra."

"Shut up", she screams as her body becomes encased in her aura. This resulted in the earth beginning to shake again, though this magnitude, though powerful enough to feel, was way too small to be significant. After a few moments of the earth shaking, Terra falls to her knees with tears in her eyes as she looks down at her hands. "Someone help me", she whispered.

"Terra, you okay", I asked her.

"Just stay away from me", she shouts as she looks up at me. She then gasps again upon seeing something in the distance up in the trees. They moved like ninjas as they jumped from branch to branch, getting closer and closer to Beast Boy's unconscious body.

"Beast Boy, wake up", I shouted to him. When he didn't respond I Changed into my wolf form and began running towards him. I stop for a brief moment to look back at the others to ask for their help, which was when I noticed Terra beginning to run away again. "Wait! Terra!"

"Tell whoever you wanna tell", she called back to me as she continued to run, not caring anymore about my threat, which in reality was a bluff.

"Terra! Wait! Ugh, what is happening", I asked in frustration to myself as I grabbed at my head. I then roared in irritation as I continued to run towards Beast Boy. "Get away from him", I shouted to the six men, who I realized were more of DS' masked goons from before. They were all standing around Beast Boy, still in his werewolf form, as one of them took a blood sample from the sleeping Titan via syringe. Once they collected what they came to collect, they immediately began making their way back into the trees. "No you don't", I snarled as I leapt up and bit down on one's leg, dragging him to the ground with me. The masked man with the syringe continued to make his getaway, while the other four immediately leapt down on top of me from the trees to assist their comrade. "Aura, Force", I roared as my purple aura sort of exploded from my body, sending the five enemies that were previously weighing me down to fly in multiple directions. I then Changed into my bear form and roared at them on my hind legs upon seeing them rise to their feet and surrounding me. It was then that I got some assistance from a few friends.

"I will not let you endanger my master", said Fixit sternly as he began to glow red. He then utilized his techno-kinesis abilities to grab one of the men and throw him into the air by focusing his powers on the man's metal armor. Once he was airborne, Lola immediately catches him out of the air as she clamped her jaws onto his legs and began to shake him violently.

"Save some for me", said Red X as he jumps in front of me and fires two projectiles at two more of the men out of the "X"'s on his gloves. As the two "X"-shaped projectiles hit their targets, the two men struggled to rise to their feet, as the projectiles seemed to consist of a super strong, gooey adhesive, which prevented them from moving. As for the last two enemies, Kendall took care of them as she used one of her defensive spells to bring life to a nearby tree, as two of its roots shot out of the ground and wrapped around each of the two men, preventing them from moving as well.

"Lola", I called up to the green moth as I clicked my tongue at her. Upon hearing her name being called, she flies down to me and spits out the man she held in her mouth. "Tell me what's going on here", I demanded as I grabbed the man by his throat. "Spill it! Right now! Or I swear I'll bite your fucking head off!" Before I could get my answer, a blast of red energy fires at us from up in the trees again, creating a blast so powerful that it was enough to blind us all, and that included Fixit and his robotic eyes. When the flash had cleared and my sight was starting to return, I looked up into the trees to see the shadowy figure that fired at us. He was too far away to see, and with my werewolf vision damaged at the moment, all I could tell was that he was a rather large fellow with some form of gun in one hand and he hung from a branch by his other hand.

"Who the Hell is that", asked Red X.

"That's what I'd like to know", I said back to him. "Fixit, who's up there?"

"My apologies, Master, but the particles released from his weapon are affecting my retinas. I'm afraid I cannot see him for the moment." It was at this point the mysterious gunman pointed his weapon at us again, as it began charging up for another shot.

"Everyone get close to me", I said as I moved over to Beast Boy. Without question, Fixit, Lola, Red X, and Kendall all made their way over to us just as the gunman fired. I then used my powers to create an aura shield around us, though the blast was still enough to blind us again as it engulfed my shield in a flash of red. Eventually, when the flash disappeared again and I deactivated my shield, we were all shocked to discover that the masked man and mysterious gunman had all disappeared.

"Where'd they go", asked Red X. I then looked over to Fixit to see if he could detect them.

"My systems are still recovering, Master." I growled in irritation in response. "My deepest apologies, Master", continued Fixit with a bow.

"No, it isn't your fault. I'm just a little on edge right now. It's been one fucked up day today."

"Okay, look, what is it that's going on", asked Red X to me. "You go to great lengths to track us down for answers, but I have yet to hear you explain why you need answers from us. Meanwhile, this city has been under attack moreso than usual ever since you came along. And I have a feeling that the center of it all revolves around you."

"It's a long story", I responded.

"I've got nowhere to go", said Red X before Kendall stepped in to explain.

"You see, Mr. X, the Wolfman is an Elemental, one of six powerful mutants tasked with the duty of defending this planet and all who inhabit it."

"Whoop-de-doo", began X sarcastically. "The Titans, and anyone else with powers for that matter do the exact same thing all the time. What's so special about this guy?"

"What stands out about the Elementals is that they are living embodiments of the six elements, each of which are powerful forces that keep not only this planet, but the universe as a whole in balance. These gifts were awoken in them when they all were born, and the Wolfman, here, as the most powerful of the six, is the leader of the Elementals, for he is the Prince of Darkness, destined to defend the world from the return of the ultimate evil."

"Prince of Darkness", asked Red X in disbelief as he turned towards me. "And what, you're bound to some prophecy, like a destiny sort of thing?"

"I don't expect you to believe her, nor do I care if you do or not", I said to him. "Most people either think I'm crazy or simply don't care whenever they learn of who I am."

"So if you're this great and powerful prince, then what're you doing here? And where are all of your Elemental buddies?"

"They're gone. Three of them have been captured, and the other two are in hiding. Somebody somewhere is plotting to capture all six of us, and it's because of their schemes that I nearly lost all of my powers. The abilities I've demonstrated so far are mere fractions of what I normally can do. But sadly my powers are weakened."

"That still doesn't completely answer my question. What does any of this have to do with the Titans?"

"Before Jump City I resided in Alaska, which is where I was sought out and attacked by Jump City's own Doctor Light. I was then transported here, where I met and later joined the Titans. Ever since then I've been slowly trying to piece together the bigger picture behind the kidnapping of my friends, as I've discovered that several of Jump City's villains seem to be working together to accomplish their goals. Killer Moth and Mad Mod were just another couple of DS' soldiers."

"And I assume this DS is this "ultimate evil" that the witch keeps blabbing about?"

"Perhaps. All I know is that I have to save my friends, and I'm running low on time."

"How so?"

"That's not important right now. What is important is that I defeat this ultimate evil before my time is up. But in order to do that, I must realize this Dark Trinity that Kendall's vision speaks of. In order to do that, I must complete five trials with the eight different pawns with whom I'm supposed to complete these trials. And before I do that, I have to figure out and assemble all eight pawns, and according to Kendall, Terra may very well be one of those pawns. And you could be one, too for that matter. Hopefully, if I find all the pawns and realize the Trinity, I'll be able to find and free my friends along the way." After listening to what I had to say, Red X hesitated before speaking again.

"So, what do you need from me?" A part of me was shocked by how well he was taking all of the information I just gave him. Another part of me was shocked that he wanted to know how he could help me.

"You can start by telling me everything you know, such as who you are, why you helped us, and what's your connection to the Titans."

"Sorry, but that information is on a need-to-know basis, and right now, you don't need to know." I growled at him in response. "But, I may be willing to keep my eyes and ears open and report any info I may happen to find, for the right price of course." I growled at him again before answering.

"Fine, if you help me figure out what all these villains are doing, then I will willingly look the other way whenever you do your little heists, as long as you're not stealing anymore chemicals again."

"Sorry, but I kinda need one chemical in particular."

"You're not taking anymore xenothium until you tell me why you need it."

"In that case, good luck finding the answers you need without me."

"And good luck to you once I report to Robin that I've run into you three times within the past week. I'm sure he'd be _very_ interested in hearing that his old buddy Red X is in town."

"Huh, touche", he said before he pulled off one of his gloves and rolled up his sleeve. The pale skin on his arm was a sickly white color with greenish-yellow blotches all over it, like he was rotting from the inside out, though my nose could tell that he wasn't a zombie.

"What exactly are you?"

"For now, all you need to know is that I'm a mutant like you", he began as be pulled down his sleeve and slipped his glove back on. "As for the xenothium, which is what this suit runs on, it's the only thing keeping me on my feet."

"What does that mean?"

"That's my business I'm afraid, as is anything else you wish to know outside of what I already told you."

"Fine, then. As long as you continue to help me and the Elementals, you may raid all the xenothium you require. No more, no less. Go overboard with your heists, and you'll have to answer to me."

"Done deal. It's been a pleasure doing business with 'ya, your majesty", he mocked me with a bow.

"Don't push your luck", I growled at him.

"Then you may need these", said Fixit as he stepped forward with two new communicators. These ones were purple and black, with the letter "D" on them.

"What're these", I asked him as I took them and handed one to Red X.

"I have decided to call them D-Tectors. Much like your Titan communicator, these will allow you to communicate with Red X just as easily as you would with the Titans. However, these in particular have the ability to emit a series of special wavelengths that are sensitive to members of the supernatural, allowing each of you to detect the nearby location of one another even without the built-in radar."

"Wow. I must say, that's rather impressive", said Red X as he clipped his D-Tector on his belt.

"I also have one for Miss Kendall as well", said Fixit as he handed one to the witch.

"Good, now I can contact you all should I need to. This upcoming battle is going to be a long and complicated one, so from here on, just think of yourselves as my sort of private council."

"If by "private" you mean that our meetings will be hush-hush, then I've got no complaints", said Red X.

"And what say you, Kendall?"

"After seeing how hard you're working to save your friends, and what you will need to do to save the world, how can I refuse to assist you? I shall remain in Jump City, to assist you, my liege", said Kendall with a bow.

"And I am forever in your debt, Master. I will also fight by your side until the bitter end", said Fixit. Lola also took the time to put her two cents in by letting out a hiss as she fluttered her wings. I rewarded her enthusiasm by scratching under her chin.

"Thanks, Guys. The Elementals are forever grateful for your assistance", I said as I bowed to them.

"Welp, that's enough cheesy conversation for one day", said Red X. "Meeting adjourned", he continued as he pushed a button on his belt and teleported away in a red flash.

"And I shall return to the lair and continue to observe any magnitude activity", said Fixit as he climbed onto Lola's back.

"Thank you, Fixit", I said as Lola took to the air and began flying home.

"And if you need me, I'll be at the "Pudding & Pie"", said Kendall as she began walking back towards the city.

"Wait, why're you—", I began before realizing that she had vanished into thin air. "I hate when she does that", I growled to myself as I looked back down at Beast Boy, still unconscious in his werewolf form. I then lifted my hand up to my collar and made a call. "Titans, come in. Is anybody there?"

"Robin to Wolfman, what's going on?"

"Yeah, where are you and Beast Boy", asked Cyborg. "We just walked past by this shady part of town. A lot of people said they saw two mutated dogs fighting in the streets."

"Yeah, and somebody also said that they shot down something when the fireworks started", added Robin.

"They did, me."

"What", asked the Titans simultaneously.

"We're okay, I'll explain later."

"Wait, Beast Boy's with you", asked Raven.

"Yes, which is why I need Starfire to come and find us while the rest of you make your way back to the Tower. We do have a medical room, right, Cy?"

"Where are you", asked Robin. "We'll be right over."

"No, don't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm pretty sure I discovered what's wrong with Beast Boy, and it's not safe for you, Cyborg, or Raven to be near him right now. All I need is Starfire." Robin hesitated for a moment before responding.

"Fine, the rest of us will be waiting for you back at the Tower."

"And I shall be there shortly", said Starfire.

"Good. Wolfman, out", I said as I hung up. Starfire then arrived a few minutes later as she said, though she gasped upon seeing Beast Boy's werewolf form, as well as the leveled out forest area.

"Oh no. Please tell me that no harm came to anyone else."

"So you were aware of this?"

"I was, but I shall explain more in detail once we've returned home", said Starfire as she wrapped one of Beast Boy's arms around her shoulders.

"Fair enough", I said as I had some explaining to do myself when we got back. I then Changed back into my armored form and grabbed Beast Boy's other arm. The two of us then took to the air as we began escorting our sleeping friend back home.


	22. The Beast Returns

Once Starfire and I made it home with Beast Boy, the Titans all immediately brought him to the infirmary on the second floor. Once there, Cyborg strapped him into a hospital-like bed and hooked up a bunch of wires to him. He then took a few moments to analyze all of the screens showing Beast Boy's data while the rest of us waited outside in the hallway. Since the Titans all had questions as to what had happened that night, we all waited for Cyborg in silence before discussing.

Robin and Starfire leaned against the wall closest to the door that also had a tinted window. Raven and I stood opposite them. Raven could sense that I was concerned about something, which I was. That night was all kinds of crazy, as I had been through all kinds of different forms of chaos, one of which was seeing Raven naked.

I hated that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I already felt shame whenever I caught myself gawking at her legs or her ass, but now, thanks to Kendall, I have the image of what Raven looks like when she's naked, though thankfully she was wearing a cloak at the time.

 _Oy, what a_ day, I thought to myself as I Changed into my wolf form to lie down. I was exhausted. Upon seeing me do so, the other Titans all followed my lead to sit on the floor while we waited for Cyborg. Raven, still sensing that I was troubled about something, then begins petting my head as we sat in silence. She didn't care that Starfire and Robin could see her petting me. She was more concerned with making sure I was okay. _You're just awesome,_ Raven, I thought to myself as my tail began wagging. After what seemed like forever, Cyborg finally joined us in the hallway, closing the door behind him.

"So what's up, Cyborg", asked Robin. Cyborg then came over to sit on the other side of Starfire before speaking.

"Well as I said before, due to the shape-shifting, Beast Boy has unstable genetics. And it would seem that his body has been slowly adapting itself to the antidote I gave him, until today when that beast could come out again."

"Just call it what it is, a werewolf", I said as I lifted my head up.

"How can that be", asked Starfire. "Beast Boy already had the ability to turn into a wolf before he acquired this form."

"Not a wolf, a _were_ wolf. There's a difference in the two."

"I thought the word "werewolf" translates to man-wolf, as in a man who can transform into a wolf", said Robin.

"Yes, but lycanthropy is a bit more complex than that. In the world of animagi, individuals can turn into all kinds of animals, each one being exactly like an individual of said animal in the wild, much like Beast Boy's powers. That is of course, except for wolves. Outside of werewolves, there are no mutants that can transform into regular, ordinary wolves, that is of course except for Beast Boy. The rest of us turn into werewolves, supernatural wolves that are often associated with forces such as magic and darkness."

"But you look like a regular wolf to me", said Cyborg.

"Yes", I began as I sat up, "but my paws have thumbs, and my current appearance is only temporary."

"What do you mean by that", asked Robin.

"Every breed of werewolf has something about them that makes them unique from all other breeds. In my case, as an Elemental werewolf, aside from the psychic and magical powers, I Morph every fourteen years."

"What, like Change", asked Cyborg.

"No, Changing just refers to my everyday shape-shifting. Morphs are different. When I was born, I wasn't born in human form like other werewolves, nor did I have to wait until the age of fourteen to inherit my powers. I was born as a literal wolf pup, fur and all. And as I grew, I remained relatively the same size as a several-week-old wolf pup for thirteen years, while my friends, the Elementals' animal forms, naturally grew just as normal animals do in the wild. No matter how old I got or how big my human form got, my wolf form was always puppy-sized. But that all Changed the day I turned fourteen, when my wolf form underwent a painful transformation, as it forced itself to grow much bigger instantly. After a grueling four-hour process in which my bones and muscles constantly broke and tore, my tiny wolf form was permanently replaced with the wolf you see before you. And my wolf form has remained this size ever since."

"So, when you turn twenty-eight—", began Robin.

"I'll morph again, into a bigger wolf."

"How big exactly are you gonna get", asked Cyborg.

"Don't know, but Taiyo predicts that I'll be "fully grown" once I turn seventy, meaning I've got four more Morphs to go through."

"Ouch."

"Back on topic though", began Robin, "if this werewolf form of Beast Boy's is different from his regular wolf form, then how do we control it?"

"We don't. Beast Boy must learn to control it, just as one would upon being bitten."

"This training process sounds as if it will take some time", said Starfire.

"Perhaps, though I don't think it'll take all that long. I'm thinking Beast Boy's outburst was triggered by something."

"Like what", asked Cyborg.

"We can worry about that later", said Robin. "Right now our priority is helping Beast Boy through this training process."

"I don't think that's a good idea", said Raven. "Again, we should just let Wolfman handle this."

"Unfortunately I must agree with Raven", I added.

"What're you saying? That we can't be in the same room as him anymore", asked Cyborg.

"No, not at all. But until he gains total control of his werewolf form, if and when I have my training sessions with him, the only one of you four who should be present is Starfire."

"Though I am glad I may help assist Beast Boy, why must the others be absent", asked Starfire.

"Because, well, because—", I began as I started to hesitate before Raven interrupted me.

"It's because if Beast Boy loses control, then he may come after us, so having us nearby while you train him may only complicate things more."

"Why would he come for us specifically and not Starfire", asked Robin.

"Because to a hungry, and rogue werewolf, we're prey." Starfire gasped upon hearing that.

"Is that correct, Wolfman", she asked me. I took a deep breath before answering her.

"Among other things, werewolves are the natural predators of vampires, zombies, humans—".

"And demons", added Raven. "Which is why he targeted me when he started going berserk at the destroyed jewelry store today."

 _But don't get it confused, you're not a demon. You are a half-demon_ , I said to her telepathically.

 _It's the same thing_.

 _Perhaps to a raging werewolf, but the reality is, you're not a demon. Demons are embodiments of pure evil. You, as a half-demon, are merely one born from a demon, but that also means your mother is a human. That means you have the power to choose who and what you are, and you being here right now says that you're making all the right choices._ Raven rewarded my comforting her with another scratch behind the ears, which was awesome except for the fact that it took every ounce of my strength to keep my leg from losing its mind like it did last time.

"So, _can_ you train him", asked Robin.

"I can. My training sessions will just have to be away from the city, so that we won't endanger anyone. Other than that, things can go just as they were before today."

"That's good news", said Cyborg.

"Yes, now tell me, how exactly did Beast Boy acquire his werewolf form? Because it wreaks of chemical cocktails."

"We were fighting a villain in the city's old animal lab. He and Beast Boy were exposed to a vat of chemicals, turning them both into those werewolves."

"Wait, so there's another one of those wolves running around?"

"No, he received the same antidote I gave BB, so he's back to his normal human self."

"Wrong", I began as I interrupted Cyborg. "This villain you fought failed to be human the moment he became exposed to those chemicals, and nothing you can do will ever change that. Whether he realizes it or not, he's still just as much of a werewolf as me and technically Beast Boy."

"How so", asked Robin.

"Lycanthropy and vampirism are both permanent. There is no erasing, or curing it. Vampirism cannot be altered by any medical means whatsoever, and lycanthropy can only be muffled, from treatments like Cyborg's antidote. The mutation is still inside of him, altering his body as he lives his life."

"So does that mean Adonis will soon start attacking the city", asked Robin.

"No, but it does mean that he's a half-wolf, which is a werewolf with muffled lycanthropy. Thanks to Cyborg's antidote, this Adonis no longer has the ability to Change, nor will his primal instincts ever gain control. However, the super strength, the heightened senses, his connection to the supernatural world, these attributes are still very much alive."

"Can we not use one of Raven's spells to cure Beast Boy or Adonis", asked Starfire.

"No", said Raven. "Magic and witchcraft have no effect on one's lycanthropy, unless they received their powers by way of magic. Since Beast Boy and Adonis were exposed to chemicals, they're stuck with it for life."

"How do you know so much about werewolves, Rae", asked Cyborg.

"As I said before, werewolves eat demons—".

" _Half_ -demon", I added. Raven chuckled a moment before continuing.

"Yes, and half-demons. So naturally, though I've never had very many experiences with them, I can still spot a werewolf when I see one."

"This is all some _really_ heavy stuff", said Cyborg with a groan. "Where do we go from here?"

"We go forward. Like I said, outside of private training lessons, nothing has to change. We're still the Teen Titans. All we can do now is be there for Beast Boy until he learns to control his new form. Plus, if anything ever happens we're all right here."

"Speaking of", said Cyborg as he looked at a screen on his arm after it started beeping. The five of us then rose to our feet to see Beast Boy, as he was slowly regaining consciousness, though he hadn't yet returned to his human form for some reason. Once Beast Boy realized that he was being restrained, he immediately began wiling out as he growled and roared trying to break free.

"Everybody stay here", I said as I returned to all fours and walked into the room. I then made my way over to Beast Boy, who paused upon picking up my scent immediately. Beast Boy then begins to growl at me as I got closer to him. Upon seeing him do so, I rose to my hind legs and started giving him the same treatment I gave Walter back in Anchorage. As Beast Boy continued to growl at me, I got up in his face and growled back at him. Whenever Beast Boy got ballsy and try to bite me, I would snarl at him, which shocked him each time as he would try to drive his head backwards as if trying to hide inside his pillow. This continued for a few moments until Beast Boy contradicted me again and scraped the underside of my chin with his teeth. I punished him for it by biting down on his left ear and shaking my head violently, which immediately won him over as he began to whine upon my releasing him. To further drive my point, I began growling at him again, to which Beast Boy responded by continuing to whine as he tried to make himself as submissive as possible. _That's what I thought_ , I thought to myself as my yellow eyes began to glow slightly. "Hypnossssissss", I whispered as I flicked my serpent tongue for effect. Beast Boy then let out a growl-like groan as his eyes rolled to the back of his head before passing out again. However, unlike last time, upon being knocked out again, Beast Boy finally returned to his human form, with tears and slashes throughout his uniform. I then released the restraints on Beast Boy's unconscious body, picked him up, and made my way out of the room with him.

"Where are you taking him", asked Starfire.

"To his room. I'll keep an eye on him tonight just in case. But for now, it'd probably be best if he forgot about tonight." _At least I hope he does_ , I thought to myself.

"Good call", said Robin with a yawn. "It's been a long day. Let's all get some shut-eye."

"Glorious idea", said Starfire.

"No complaints here", added Cyborg. The six of us then made our way to the elevator and rode up to the top floor. Once there, Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire broke towards the left to head to their rooms, while Raven and I turned right to walk Beast Boy to his room. Once there, I floated up to the top bunk of his bed and rolled him in.

"Terra", said Beast Boy to himself in his sleep. Upon hearing him say that, I hoped and prayed yet again that he would forget the events of that night when he woke up.

"Well this has been one crazy day", said Raven quietly as we snuck out of Beast Boy's room.

"Yeah, it'll be a miracle if I get any sleep tonight", I said as I dropped down to all fours and began pacing around in a circle for a moment before lying down.

"So we go through the trouble of getting you your own bed, and you're not even going to use it", teased Raven.

"Hardy-har. I'm just keeping my eye on Beast Boy tonight", I said with a yawn. "Just, making sure, he doesn't—", I began before I started to drift off.

"Wow, miracles really _do_ happen", chuckled Raven to herself. I hadn't fallen completely asleep yet, but my eyes were closed and I was too exhausted to move anymore, let alone respond. Before going to her room for the night, Raven squats down and leans in close. "Good boy", she whispers as she scratches me behind the ears one more time. This got me to purr for a brief moment, as Raven's "goodnight" was both soothing and spine-tingling as she sent goose bumps throughout my body. A few moments after her fingers left my ears, I heard the sound of Raven's bedroom door closing behind her.

 _I'm a good boy_ , I began repeating to myself in my head, as if I was in disbelief and needed to constantly remind myself of that. _I'm a good boy. I'm a good boy. I'm_ her _good boy._


	23. Midnight Prowl

That night, as I dreamt, I was once again transported to that weird outer space world. I was back in my human form, once again, I was floating on a rock in the middle of the red and black abyss. There was no bridge, no falling white feathers, nothing.

"Well if this isn't another case of déjà vu", I said to myself sarcastically. In response to my comment, a door appeared out of nowhere off to the side of me. "Wonder where this leads", I said as I walked over to the door and opened it. Immediately, as the door opened, I got swallowed by another white light. "Here we go again."

After the light had passed and I regained my vision, I found myself in another location that was a blast from the past. It was the school auditorium from my old elementary school. Not only that, it was another one of my memories. Specifically, this was the day I had the courage to sing on my own in public for the first time, as the other five Elementals were in the audience while I was alone on stage. I cringed upon seeing this memory, as I remembered what I had chosen to sing. It was yet another Sesame Street song, specifically that Elmo Tap Dancing song. My much younger self (like I was maybe ten) was even dressed for that performance. In an attempt to make myself look more like Elmo, my younger self was in his wolf cub form, with a little tuxedo on top of his fur. In addition to that, my black fur had also been dyed red, and my wet nose was painted orange.

"God, I'm such a dork", I said as I facepalmed myself. I was content with just shielding myself from relooking at my shame, but then the music started, and I lifted my head up.

First your fingers snap  
And then your claws start tappin'  
Give your knees a slap  
And let your paws start clappin'  
Anything can happen when you're happy tappin' with the Wolfman

'Ya don't need a map to find the King of Tappin'  
I'm the furry chap  
The one whose arms are flappin'  
Oh baby, it's a snap  
So try some happy tappin' with the Wolfman

Happy's such a raw emotion  
It'll give your claws a happy notion  
If your paws get tired rub in some lotion  
And they'll feel cool, so, join the Wolfman

You'll be happy when you see me tappin'  
Better make it snappy, don't get caught nappin'  
Tell your mam and pappy that you're happy tappin' with the Wolfman  
Happy tappin' with the Wolfman

Happy's such a raw emotion  
It'll give your claws that happy notion  
If your paws get tired rub in some lotion  
And they'll feel cool, so, join the Wolfman

You'll be happy when you see me tappin'  
Better make it snappy, don't get caught nappin'  
Tell your mam and pappy that you're happy tappin' with the Wolfman  
Happy tappin' with the Wolfman  
Yeah!

Much to my surprise when the audience, other than the biased Elementals, began clapping and cheering. I never remembered people applauding me the way they were, as I associated that memory with embarrassment.

"Welp, that happened. Now how do I get out of here", I said to myself as I started looking around the room for an exit. It was then I noticed another white light off to my left. It was coming from the doorway that led to the hallway. "That's my cue", I said as I went into a full-out sprint towards the white light. Once it had passed, I found myself still on the elementary school's campus, but I was in a different location, specifically the old playground. Once again, I saw younger versions of the other Elementals, all of which in their animal forms. The five of them were off to the side playing Hide-'N-Seek Tag.

"Andre's it", shouted grizzly bear cub Adryen as he and three of the other Elemental cubs ran off to hide while Andre, an African elephant calf, starting counting to twenty as he covered his eyes with his ears. As he did so, the other Elementals began finding their hiding spots. Tiger cub Ryan, and giraffe calf Asia found their hiding places near each other behind a bush and a skinny, young tree respectively. Bear cub Adryen found his hiding place in the plastic tube thing that kids climbed through on the jungle gym, while white rhino calf Taiyo hid under the slide (because of their large size, he and Andre were terrible at hiding, so they were often "it").

"….twenty! Ready or not, here I come", shouted young Andre as he immediately began sniffing at the air with his trunk. It didn't take him long to find somebody, as I noticed him clearly looking at Taiyo hiding under the slide. Fortunately for him, Andre took mercy on him and continued on to find someone else. As Andre ventured on to the far right in search of his friends, I looked back over towards my left by where Ryan and Asia were hiding. Ryan was perfectly safe, as he was completely submerged in the bush. Asia, on the other hand, was having a difficult time staying still, as the base of her body was hidden by the bush, her neck was directly behind the tree, and her head was buried in the trees branches.

"Quit squirming", whispered Ryan.

"I can't help it, there's something crawling on my nose."

 _Ha, I remember this_ , I thought to myself as I watched the young giraffe struggle to shake the caterpillar off of her nose.

"Well shake it off then."

"Yeah, duh", said Asia as she jerked her head. Andre, whose back was turned to them, paused and flapped his ears for a moment as he tried listening in on his surroundings. "Ryan, help."

"Ugh, hold still", said Ryan as he prowled over to the giraffe's legs. He then waited for Andre to look away before he began climbing up Asia's legs and neck, hiding in the tree where Asia's face was.

"Hurry, it's tickling", said Asia as she struggled to keep still as her legs shook underneath her.

"Don't sneeze! Don't sneeze", said Ryan once he paws the caterpillar away.

"I can't, I—ah, ah", began Asia as she prepared to sneeze. Ryan interrupted it by placing his paw over her nostrils. "Ah, thank you", she said to the cub as he removed her paw, only to sneeze again. "AH-CHOO", sneezed the calf loudly as several of the tree's leaves were blown off of the branches, revealing her face and the tiger cub next to it. Upon hearing her sneeze, the elephant calf spins around and charges at them.

"Run", shouted Ryan as he leapt onto Asia's face. The panicky giraffe then makes a dash for it as the tiger cub held onto her for dear life.

"Ryan, I can't see", shouted Asia as she ran in a blind panic due to the tiger cub covering her eyes.

"Go left! Go left", shouted the cub, urging the giraffe to run towards the left. "No, the other left!"

"Make up your mind", said Asia, unaware that she nearly tripped over the root of another tree as the elephant calf chased after her.

"Ah! Don't bring him this way", shouted Taiyo as Asia started running closer to the slide he was hiding under, forcing him to abandon it and run away himself. The sound of Adryen's laughter could be heard as he watched the circus act of an elephant, chasing a rhino, and a giraffe with a tiger on her face, in circles. As I watched with the feeling of nostalgia, I found myself laughing to.

"God, I miss them", I said to myself as I finally caught my breath after laughing so hard. It was then I noticed, at another part of the playground, a young girl with gray skin and purple hair. She also had purple eyes, and wore a pair of boots, a leotard, and a cloak with a hood on it, all of which were white. "Uh-uh, no way", I said to myself as I shook my head, as a part of me was questioning if I had met Raven before Jump City. "No way. I would've remembered going to school with a half-demon." My conversation with myself was interrupted upon seeing two little boys run up to the sand box that she was playing in (the school's building doubled as a primary school).

"What a loser", said one little boy to the other. "She still plays with dollies", he continued in reference to the discount Barbie doll she was playing with ("discount" in the sense that it was not a Barbie doll, and this was years before Bratz, Monster High, and Lala Loopsy started taking over the world, so I had no idea what doll she was playing with).

"What's wrong with that", asked little Raven in a shaky voice.

"Here, I know. How about a story", began the little boy, ignoring Raven's question as he snatched her doll away.

"Hey, give her back", pleaded Raven as she rose to her feet. The other little boy responded by pushing her down. The boy with her doll then began telling his story.

"Once upon a time, there was this dumb girl with weird skin who played with dolls."

 _Gee, I bet your parents are_ lovely _people_ , I thought to myself sarcastically as I angrily watched from the sidelines.

"Hi, I'm Raven", said the boy in a mockingly high voice as he pretended to be the doll. "Oh no, what's that", he continued in reference to the other boy, who pretended to be a monster of some kind as he grabbed at the doll's head. "Help, he's eating me", chuckled the other boy as he tugged against his friend.

"No! Stop it", pleaded Raven as she began to cry. Moments later, the boys had accomplished their goal of yanking the doll's head off as one threw the headless doll on the ground, while the other put the doll's head in his pocket.

 _Okay, that's it_ , I thought to myself with a growl. I then teleported over to the top of the nearby swing set, Changing into my wolf form as I did so. It was the perfect location, as the sun was directly over me, meaning that the boys discovered I was there due to my shadow blanketing them. "And then the hungry wolf, ate the mean, little kids. The End", I said to them with a growl. I then leapt off of the swing set and roared at them. They and several other nearby kids ran away screaming, leaving me alone with Raven, still with tears in her eyes as she trembled in fear.

"Please don't eat me", whined Raven in response to me taking a step towards her. The dream was clearly aware that it was a dream, as not only was Raven a child, but she had no idea who I was. I then noticed a flower garden off towards my right growing along a wall of the building. The garden was growing pimpernels. I then used my psychic powers to pick one of the flowers and then presented it to Raven as it floated in front of her.

"I promise, I won't eat you", I said as Raven took the flower. She had stopped crying at this point. I then lowered my rear to the ground to sit.

"But, you're a werewolf", she says as she points to me.

"I am, so", I asked her as I cocked my head (there was really no need to, I just did it to try and cheer her up).

"I thought werewolves ate girls like me."

"Nah, we can't do that", I began as I moved up closer to her. "A sweet, little thing like you, I'd get at least ten cavities", I said jokingly as I tickled her face with my nose, which got her to giggle. She then smiled up at me as I sat back down. "Not all of us werewolves are big and bad. A lot of us are nice."

"Kinda like how there's nice people and mean people", she asked me, most likely in reference to the boys who broke her doll.

"Exactly. See? We're more alike than you think."

"That's right", said Adryen from behind me. I then turned behind me to see that he and the four other Elementals accompanied him, for whatever reason, were all now in their current grownup sizes, as Ryan stood at four feet tall, Adryen stood at five feet tall, Taiyo stood at six feet tall, Andre stood at eleven feet tall, and Asia, the tallest of the bunch, towered over us all at nineteen feet. A part of me was tempted to rush up to them all and start hugging them, but then what happened next reminded me that it was all a dream. "In fact", continued Adryen as he sat down next to Raven on his rear, "you might say, we're the same where it _really_ counts."

Even in my dreams, Adryen wasn't slick. If you thought I was a dork when it came to how I incorporated music in everything when I was younger, Adryen still did it like _all_ the time. Despite him being the brains of the Elementals, he was also the goofball of the family. He liked playing jokes, goofing off, loafing around, and basically anything that meant having fun, which is why he loved singing so much, especially when all six of us were gathered together. God made the correct choice of having Adryen being born as an animagus grizzly, because he reminded me very much of Disney's depiction of Baloo.

Upon hearing Adryen's comment, which everyone, except little Raven, knew was a reference to a song, a random piano popped up next to us. Without saying anything, or even questioning how and why a piano magically appeared from nowhere, Andre Changes back down into his human form and walks over to it. Once there, he began playing another obscure song from our childhoods, cuing Adryen to begin singing to Raven. The rest of us slowly followed his lead one by one.

 **Adryen:**

Oh, we've got

Lots in common where it

Really counts

Where it

Really counts

We've got

Large amounts

What we look like doesn't

Count an ounce

We've got lots in common where it

Really counts

 **Me:**

(Wolf Howl)

 **Adryen:**

I've got fur and you've got skin

 **Adryen and Taiyo:**

But both our outsides hold us in

 **Me:**

I have fangs and you've flat teeth

But both help us to eat

 **Adryen:**

'Cause we've got

Lots in common where it

Really counts

 **Me, Adryen, and Taiyo:**

Where it

Really counts

We've got

Large amounts

What we look like doesn't

Count an ounce

We've got lots in common where it

Really counts

 **Ryan:**

(Tiger Roar)

 **Adryen:**

I've got claws, and you have toes

 **Adryen and Taiyo:**

But the both of us walk to and fro

 **Ryan:**

You'll say, "hi"

And I'll say, "roar"

But neither's less or more

 **Me, Adryen, Ryan, and Taiyo:**

'Cause we've got

Lots in common where it

Really counts

Where it

Really counts

We've got

Large amounts

What we look like doesn't

Count an ounce

We've got lots in common where it

Really counts

 **Asia:**

(Giraffe Bellow)

Your neck is short and mine is tall

But we're both lovely, spots and all

We share the sun, the Earth, the sky

And that's the reason why

 **All Six Elementals:**

We've all got

Lots in common where it

Really counts

Where it

Really counts

We've got

Large amounts

What we look like doesn't

Count an ounce

We've got lots in common where it

Real-ly, counts

Upon hearing us finish our song, Raven laughs in enjoyment as she claps for us. The five animals that stood in front of her, myself included, all take a bow as if we were all on a stage in reference to our performance. I remember feeling like I wanted to cry, as that was an extremely happy moment for me, even if it was just a dream, to have a relaxing day with the six people I loved more than anything else in the world. However, my happiness was short-lived upon hearing the voice of the wandering spirit.

 _The True Alpha_ , she whispered in my ear telepathically.

 _True Alpha? Who? Who's the True Alpha?_

 _Misery_ , she whispered again.

 _Okay, who's Misery?_ Before I could even wait for an answer, Adryen tackles me and begins sniffing my face with his huge, wet nose. "Adryen, what're you doing", I said with a chuckle as it was hard to keep a straight face whenever Adryen started acting as silly as he was. It was then that the white light appeared again, swallowing everybody as my dream came to an end.

I then found myself back (or still, depending on how you looked at it) in my wolf form, awake, but with my eyes still closed. It wasn't because I was too tired to move yet, though to be fair, I could somehow tell it was still dark out, it was because even though the dream was over, I could still feel somebody's wet nose pressed against my face. It didn't take me long to realize that Beast Boy was awake, and based on how he smelt, he was back in his werewolf form, again.

 _God dammit, Beast Boy_ , I thought to myself as I laid perfectly still, patiently waiting for him to walk away. Eventually he grew bored of me and proceeded to walk down the hall. While laying perfectly still I opened one eye and used my x-ray vision to watch him. Though I knew letting him walk around unattended, especially after everything that had happened moments ago, was dangerous, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and observe what he was doing.

Once Beast Boy walked down the hall and made his way to the Ops Room, he stopped for a moment to observe Silkie, who was asleep in the middle of the floor. He didn't really have a bed, Silkie just sort of slept wherever he dropped. I tensed up for a moment, as I feared that he might harm Silkie as he opened his jaws and moved in closer to him. However, to my surprise, Beast Boy instead, again, using his teeth, gently picks up Silkie and walks him over to the couch, where he gently places him on top of a pillow. Upon seeing him do that, I figured one of two things was happening. Either Beast Boy was sleepwalking in his werewolf form, or he was awake and simply roaming around as a werewolf because he couldn't sleep. Either way, the Beast Boy I knew was in control.

Beast Boy then rises to his hind legs and makes his way over to Cyborg's security panel. Once there, he lifts his huge paw up to the scanner. It took a minute for the scanner to read his paw, as it was much bigger than usual.

"Scan complete. Titan identified. Security deactivated", said the computer voice as Beast Boy then walked over to the elevator and walked inside.

"Where are you off to", I asked to myself aloud as I opened a shadow portal and dove into it. From inside the Shadow Zone I saw Beast Boy's desired path. He was heading for the ground floor. "What're you up to?" My question was answered upon the elevator opening the doors, allowing Beast Boy to run to and out the front door. "Oh great", I said as I rolled my eyes. I then made a pit stop in my room as I rose up out of the floor. "Psst! Hey, Geoffrey", I whispered.

"Yes, Master Fernando", asked Geoffrey as the drone floated in front of me.

"Beast Boy's gone AWOL. I'm going after him, so I need you to act as Tower Security until we get back."

"Very well, Sir", he said to me as I opened another shadow portal. "Happy hunting", he continued as I jumped into it.

It took little to no time at all to find Beast Boy, as he hadn't gone very far by the time I caught up to him. From the safety of the Shadow Zone, I followed him until we reached this strange underground cave. It was dark, and wet, and went surprisingly deep underground as it took Beast Boy a good ten minutes to reach his destination at the end of the cave. Once there, he began sniffing what looked like a large, flat rock. With his body blocking my view, I snuck into his mind so that I could see through his eyes. Since he was also a werewolf at the time, I took advantage of his nose, too.

 _No way_ , I thought to myself as Beast Boy gazed upon the rock in front of him, which was really a pedestal where a statue was supposed to be. Based on the fact that Beast Boy picked up that mud bath scent again, and based on what was written on the statue's plaque, it was obvious why Beast Boy decided to come to that cave. The plaque read, "Terra: A Teen Titan, A True Friend".

Obviously he was planning to track down Terra. However, what wasn't obvious was how and why Terra was walking out and about when this plaque that used to have a statue above it implied that she had died some time ago. I could've looked deeper into Beast Boy's mind to find my answers, but decided not to because it was dangerous to enter Beast Boy's mind as he sleepwalked, and seeing and smelling through his eyes and nose was already pushing a bit too far. Upon realizing that I exited Beast Boy's mind and continued to observe him as he then turns and heads for the cave's exit. Once he left the cave, Beast Boy immediately headed straight for the residential area of downtown.

 _I guess Terra truly was the cause of all of those earthquakes_ , I thought to myself as I thought about what Fixit had told me about the origin of those nine tiny magnitudes from the other day. Eventually, Beast Boy manages to follow Terra's scent to a small house at the end of one street (small in the sense that it was a wide, two-story house, as opposed to every other house on that street being three stories tall). Once there, Beast Boy pauses for a moment to sniff the air. When he locates the source of the scent, he climbs a nearby light post and perches himself at the top as if he were a large vulture. The light post from which he sat gave him a clear view of Terra's bedroom window, where Terra was fast asleep.

Poor Beast Boy sat there for hours, just watching her sleep. Not once did he move, or even doze off like I did a few times. He just sat there, and watched. It was almost like he was guarding her from something. What that something was exactly, I had no idea. Eventually I noticed him getting restless as he began whining to himself. I then looked over to Terra and immediately understood why Beast Boy was upset. Terra was having a nightmare, and Beast Boy was unable to help her as he knew, even as a werewolf, that he couldn't just climb into her house to comfort her.

 _Wow, I don't know what y'all's history is together, but I genuinely feel bad for y'all_ , I thought to myself as I watched Terra toss and turn in her sleep while Beast Boy sat there helpless. When I couldn't watch this go on any longer, I focused my aura on Terra's body. As my purple aura encased her, she eventually managed to calm down and return to a peaceful state. Upon seeing Terra's body become encased in my aura, Beast Boy immediately began darting around him in a somewhat panicky manner. He was looking for me, as he could tell that I was somewhere nearby.

To avoid keeping him in suspense, I rose up out of a shadow portal on the ground a few feet away from the light post. However, I did so in my wolf form, as I was curious how Beast Boy would respond to it. Upon seeing me looking up at him on all fours, Beast Boy looks back over at Terra for a brief moment. Then he looks back to me. Then back to her, and then back to me, and then back to her again. This continued for a few seconds more until Beast Boy was finally convinced that Terra was okay. He then climbs his way back down and walks over to me on all fours. When he got close enough to me, Beast Boy immediately tries to lower himself to the ground as he whined a submissive wolf whine, which to his credit, was difficult to do considering how much bigger he was compared to me. When I felt that he made his point, I focused my aura on him as I growl at him, though I intentionally made it quiet and long as my growl kinda sounded more like a crude bellow. A few moments later, Beast Boy shakes his head as if he was confused as to where he was. Beast Boy had woken up from sleepwalking.

"Uh, where am I", asked Beast Boy as he returned to his human form.

"You're at Terra's house", I said to him as I returned to my human form.

"Terra lives here", he asked as he pointed at the house. "How'd we get here?"

"You were basically sleepwalking in your werewolf form. I followed you to this underground cave, to this plaque where a statue was supposed to be. You picked up Terra's scent, and made your way here. And up until two minutes ago, you've been watching her sleep all night."

"Wow, that's in no way creepy", he said sarcastically.

"Perhaps, but it'd be a lot worse if Terra was merely a stranger to you."

"How do you know she's not?"

"When you left the Tower, there was no hesitation. You knew exactly where you were going. You knew that you wanted to find Terra, and you knew exactly how to do so. And once you found her, you kept watch over her, and even got upset when she started having a nightmare", I said to him as I pointed up to the light post.

"Yeah, well, I'm just glad I didn't hurt her. Last time I became this beast, I kinda lost it for a while."

"Yeah, Robin and the others told me about you and Adonis."

"Did they tell you how and why I became this thing again?"

"That "thing", as you call it, is just a werewolf, no more, no less. And no, they didn't tell me, but I told them."

"Then what's wrong with me?"

"That's just it, Beast Boy, there isn't anything wrong with you. As I explained to the others, lycanthropy cannot be cured, so it was always a matter of time before Cyborg's antidote wore off."

"So, what happens now?"

"We train. Until you're completely comfortable with your werewolf form, I'm gonna be keeping my eye on you. I'll teach you how to control your werewolf form, until it becomes just another choice of weapon in your ever-growing arsenal", I said as I offered him my hand.

"Thanks", he said as he grasped it and shook it. Beast Boy then looks up at Terra's house and stares at it.

"What happened to her?"

"What", asked Beast Boy as I snapped him out of his inner thoughts.

"Well that plaque you found suggests that she died. And the statue that was there is now missing, yet Terra's still walking around. What happened?"

"The others don't believe me, but I know that's really Terra."

"Why wouldn't it be? Why don't they believe you?"

"Remember that masked dude that Raven told you about?"

"Who, Slade?"

"Yeah. A while back, when Terra was struggling to control her powers, Slade took her under his wing with the promise of helping her to control them. He then used her to infiltrate Titans Tower, and turned her against us. Even if the others believed that Terra was still alive, they probably wouldn't trust her again."

"So then, why do you? And what do you mean "still alive"?"

"After Terra betrayed us, we discovered that Slade was using this weird suit to control her against her will. It took some doing, but eventually Terra learned to regain control, and then used her powers to take Slade down. But, in doing so, her body was turned to stone. That wasn't a statue that used to be in that cave, it was her."

"I see."

"She stayed that way for months. Nothing we did could bring her back. Everything we tried failed, but then one day, for some reason she was free. I mean she was right there, her hair, her eyes, that cute way she bends her knees inward whenever she's confused, she was right in front of me. I couldn't believe it. But when I finally talked to her, she claimed that she wasn't Terra. She wouldn't even tell me what she wanted me to call her. She just told me to stop calling her "Terra", and to accept the fact that Terra was gone forever. And ever since then, every time I make eye contact with her, she runs away, and then goes to great lengths to make sure none of us ever bump into her."

 _Seems like Terra lost her way some time after her battle with Slade_ , I thought to myself in reference to the fact that she was currently a stripper and/or a prostitute. _Poor girl must be riddled with guilt_.

"Oh, and to answer your question, about why I still trust her—".

"There's no need to explain. It's obvious that you still love her." Upon hearing me say the word, "love" his green face immediately began to turn red as he shrieked in response.

"Well I, uh, the thing is…."

"Is it really _that_ hard for you to admit it?"

"How about I'll admit I love Terra when you tell Raven how much you love her", he challenged me.

"*clears throat, touche", I said to him as I started to blush a little.

"Dude, what're you waiting for? If you like her, then why won't you say anything?"

"I can't, Beast Boy."

"Why not?"

"I just can't. You have to trust me on this, I can't tell her." I couldn't bring myself to scold Beast Boy for bugging me about Raven again. It wasn't his fault. He was simply looking out for his friends, and he didn't know that secretly I was preparing to leave this world by some unknown force.

"Fine, but can you answer me one more question?"

"Ugh, fine. What is it?"

"What exactly happened yesterday?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I remember going to the jewelry store with Starfire. Then there was that earthquake, and everything after that is kind of a blur." My wish had come true, Beast Boy had no memory of last night, which meant he had forgotten about seeing me and Terra together. I didn't hesitate in making my decision.

"You were partying with everyone else, and then suddenly you sensed something. I followed you into the woods, and then we were attacked, which was when you revealed your werewolf form. And then some time after that, while everyone was asleep, you turned into a werewolf again and sleepwalked out the front door."

"Wow, all that excitement, and I can't remember a single piece of it. I wonder if this is what amnesia feels like", he said with a chuckle in response to my lie. Though it wasn't completely my fault that Beast Boy's werewolf form made a comeback, I did contribute to him going berserk at the hotel. Plus, if I could help it, the fact that I was even at that hotel in the first place was going to be my little secret. That said, I certainly wasn't about to remind Beast Boy that I was in that hotel room with Terra, especially not after everything he just told me about her.

And speaking of Terra, even though she didn't keep up her end of the bargain/threat I made with her, I still couldn't bring myself to tell anybody. Part of the reason for that was that I still needed to get information out of her, and ratting her out before I got it would only complicate things further. Plus, and more importantly, even if you took my privacy, Beast Boy's rage, and the fact that I still needed to talk to Terra out of the equation, I still couldn't bring myself to tell anybody, especially the Titans that not only was Terra alive, but that she's been taking her clothes off for money. Terra was in a dark place at the moment, and I wanted to have no contribution in making it any worse for her. She'd been through enough as it was.

"Come on, we'd better get home before anyone notices we're gone", I said to Beast Boy as I noticed the sky was beginning to light up a little. The sun was going to rise in a few minutes, so we had to hustle pack before the two early birds woke up to two missing Titans. Beast Boy and I then Changed from our current human forms and took to the air as we began to fly home.


	24. The Crimson Strings

"Happy Birthday, Cyborg", shouted Starfire, and Beast Boy in recognition of our friend's special day. Raven, Robin, and I all joined them in applause, but weren't really the excited shouting type. The six of us had just found a parking spot at Jump City's beach for some fun in the sun. We then all stepped out of the car, revealing to the world that all but two of us were in our bathing suits, the two of us who weren't were me and Cyborg.

I was choosing to spend the day in my wolf form, as my human form wasn't exactly swimsuit ready due to my size. I would've much rather gotten stares from people due to seeing a wolf prowling on the beach, than see me without a shirt on. As for Cyborg, due to his robotic body, he technically went each day naked due to him not wearing clothes, not that he needed them.

The others on the other hand, were a bunch of good-looking young people as they had no shame being seen in public with swimsuits. The boys, Robin and Beast Boy, were both shirtless as their bathing suits consisted of green and purple swim trunks respectively. As for the ladies, Starfire was flaunting a purple two-piece bikini, while Raven on the other hand was rockin' a black one-piece bikini. On the one hand, this didn't at all surprise me as Raven didn't seem like the type to flaunt or demand extra attention. However, had she chosen to wear a two-piece like Starfire did, I might've just lost my mind. Though the testosterone, perverted part of me secretly wished Raven had shown more skin, in reality, I don't think I would've been able to function properly around her had she.

Once we were out and unloaded the car, we immediately made our way onto the sand to find the perfect spot. Fortunately for us, Cyborg's birthday fell on a Thursday in March, so even though there were some people enjoying the sun as we were, there wasn't a whole lot of people there, I mean who goes to the beach on a Thursday? We actually didn't go very far, as the spot we picked was at a halfway point between where the sand met the concrete of the parking lot directly in front of the T-Car, and where the sand met the ocean's tide.

"Surf's up, Bird Boy", said Cyborg to Robin as he ran towards the water with a surfboard under his arm. Much like how he designed the T-Car, Cyborg's surfboard looked more futuristic than it needed to.

"You're on, Cyborg", shouted Robin as he ran after him with a red surfboard with the Teen Titans logo on it. As for the rest of us, Starfire and Beast Boy broke away with a Frisbee, while Raven and I stayed behind to relax under the umbrella that we had brought. Though a large part of me was choosing to stay under the umbrella due to Raven being there, nine times out of ten, I would've wound up spending most of my day under it anyway, as I wasn't a huge fan of beaches.

In general, if given the choice, I preferred cooler climates as opposed to super hot ones, and in that regard, it was a perfect day to be at the beach as the temperature had jumped from yesterday's 62 degrees, to a scorching 82. In addition to my preference of cool over hot, I was currently covered from head to toe in thick, black fur, making the heat even more of an irritant than it already was for me. The only other alternative to hiding in the shade was spending the entire time in the water, which in my current state, I was also going to avoid if I could help it.

As I laid, curled up under the giant umbrella on the stretched out beach blankets we had brought, Raven sat next to me reading her book. As for what she was reading, I wasn't sure as it had an attachable book cover on it, covering up the book's original cover, and more importantly, the title. I didn't mind, it wasn't too important at the time, as I was just enjoying Raven's company as I always did. Lying next to her under that umbrella reminded me of my first night at the Tower, when the two of us watched the night sky together on the roof. I didn't need any excitement, or any kind of physical bonding. I was perfectly content with just being with her. The two of us sat under the umbrella alone until a couple of hours later when Beast Boy and Starfire returned from their game of fetch, which was shown as Beast Boy trotted up to us as a greyhound with the Frisbee still in his mouth.

"What a glorious day", said Starfire with a stretch as she took a seat on the other side of Raven. Beast Boy, still in his dog form, walked over and curled up on the other side of me.

"I'll take your word for it", said Raven sarcastically in reference to the fact that she never once left the shade upon us getting to the beach. I then imitated Muttley's snickering in response to her comment for comedic effect. Raven rewarded my gesture my patting me on the head.

"Hey, look", said Beast Boy as he morphed back into his human form and pointed out over the water. It was at that moment that my stomach growled, and it growled _loud_. Having everyone hear my stomach growl like that was _really_ embarrassing, so to try and sugarcoat it, I tried making a sarcastic remark.

"Unless there's a giant whale out there made completely out of peanut butter, I'm not interested." This time Raven chuckled in response to _my_ joke.

"Yeah, but check it out. Cyborg and Robin are up", he said in reference to them still surfing. I then lifted my head as we all focused our attention out over the water. There we saw the two Titans hooting and hollering as they surfed underneath a huge wave as it crashed down on the side of them.

"They are much too close together", said Starfire with a gasp. As if she had jinxed them, Cyborg and Robin's two surfboards then bump into each other, resulting in them getting knocked off and wiping out.

"And now they're down", said Raven. I responded to her comment by imitating the "wah-wah" sound from a trombone.

"Okay, Dude, we get it", said Beast Boy in reference to my sound effects.

"You're just jealous that I'm funnier than you", I retorted.

"Oh yeah? I'm the best at telling jokes. Like, did you hear about the new male cologne that they make using bananas?"

"Sure I did. I hear women find it rather a-peel-ing." The girls got a laugh out of me spoiling Beast Boy's joke before he even got to the punch line. Beast Boy was about to respond, but I cut him off as my nose picked up a scent from the breeze that blew towards us from over the water. "Do any of you guys smell that?" Before anyone could respond, my stomach growled again. _Will you_ please _shut the Hell up_ , I thought to myself as if I were scolding my stomach for its constant whining. Beast Boy then temporarily morphs back into a dog, though this time he turned into a bloodhound, and sniffs the air.

"All I smell is seawater and fish", he said as he morphed back into his human form.

"Why do you ask, Wolfman", asked Starfire.

 _Because it's a particular kind of fish that I smell_ , I thought to myself as I looked out over the ocean. As I looked out at Cyborg and Robin as they sat on their surfboards waiting for the next wave, my ears twitched upon hearing the faintest sound of something rising up out of the water. It was then that my eyes caught the tiniest sight of movement beyond the two Titans as the tiniest bit of a fin poked out of the water and then submerged again. _There you are_ , I thought to myself as I rose to my paws.

"Where are you off to", asked Starfire.

"I'll be right back. Though you might wanna advert your eyes, Beast Boy", I said as I walked out from under the umbrella and Changed into my armored form. I then stretched out my wings, letting them feel the sun's heat a little before I took off.

"Why's that", he asked me.

"Because I'm going fishing", I said to him just before I took to the sky, blowing back a small blast of sand as my wings flapped. I then cloaked myself with my aura, which allowed me to disappear as I flew out towards Cyborg and Robin.

Once I was overhead, I saw my prey a few yards behind them as he swam towards the two unaware Titans, hiding underneath the wave they were waiting for. Anticipating what the large fish was going to do, I lowered my altitude and began flying behind it as the wave got closer and closer to my friends. Once the wave got ahold of them and they were on top of their boards, my prey began to swim along the outside of the wave alongside Cyborg and Robin. At the last minute, just before my prey was about to sink his teeth into Robin's flesh, I dove into the water and sank my teeth into his head as I dragged him deeper into the water.

Without his source of flowing oxygen in his gills (sharks had to keep swimming in order to breathe), the ten-foot mako shark struggled in my jaws as I continued to swim deeper and deeper out to sea, away from the shore. Eventually, the large fish's body stopped moving, having finally drowned. I was just about to dig into my sushi lunch, when I noticed my kill's blood as it had stained a path from where I began dragging it out to sea.

 _Others are gonna smell this_ , I thought to myself as the smell of the shark's blood was already overwhelming my nostrils (for some reason certain scents were stronger underwater). I then looked out to the open sea with my werewolf vision. Though they were several miles out, my eyes still managed to catch a glimpse of a few more sharks, most of which began to swim in my direction as they also could smell the blood. _God dammit_ , I thought to myself as my meal was ruined.

At this point, there was nothing I could do to keep the sharks from coming to the shore without choosing to fight and/or chase them off. Even if I felt that was necessary, it would only make the situation worse as it would probably lead to more blood and and an invitation for more sharks to swim on by, so it made little sense to put myself in a needlessly dangerous situation. Plus, there was also the fact that even though the sharks were a few miles out to sea, makos held the record for being the fastest swimming sharks, so I wasn't about to waste any time. And though I used to never care who saw me as I ate a kill in front of them, that was all before I became friends with Beast Boy, who was a vegetarian. So out of respect for him, I couldn't bring my kill with me to shore. Still, that didn't mean that I still couldn't get some use out of the dead shark I held in my teeth.

Using my psychic powers, I then shot out of the ocean via a giant pillar of water. Had I had access to my ability to bend wind and water, I could've emerged from the ocean in a giant water cyclone as if I were a Lugia. But since I didn't, a giant pillar would have to do. Once I opened up my wings and made my presence known to all of the beachgoers, there was no way they didn't see my entrance, I hovered for a brief moment so that everyone could see the large shark that dangled from his head in my jaws. I heard a few people gasp and comment upon the dead shark continuing to bleed into the ocean underneath me.

Once my showboating was over, I bought the humans some time by hurling my kill out into the water away from the shore (makos were also technically cannibal as they also ate other sharks). As expected, a few of the sharks began to help themselves to the fresh kill that I gave them. However, this didn't stop the rest of them from continuing to swim to shore. I responded to this by flying around in circles where I currently was and howling. I had complete confidence that Robin would know what to do from there, and he did.

"Shark", shouted Robin to the other citizens who happened to be in the water at the time.

"Everybody out", added Cyborg as he and Robin began paddling back to shore. In response to their warning, the humans, like they do, began fleeing from the water in a panic. I waited until everybody had evacuated the water before flying back to rejoin the others. Due to my heads up, we were all able to escape before the sharks arrived as the surface soon became littered with shark fins as they patrolled back and forth.

Upon rejoining the Titans under the umbrella, I noticed that the fur on the side of my face was stained with some of the shark's blood. After realizing that my tongue was too short to reach (though I could've extended my tongue if I really wanted to), I began cleaning my fur by licking my paw, and then using my licked paw to rub out the blood from my face. With the taste of the shark's blood tickling my tongue, and my stomach still growling due to me not eating anything, I couldn't help but purr as I continued to clean my fur. Despite me being a wolf with blood on my face, Raven couldn't help but giggle as she watched me go full feline in front of her.

"I thought you said you were going fishing", said Beast Boy in a hyped up voice, most likely in response to witnessing me kill a shark, kind of.

"Um, excuse me, Charles Darwin, but aren't sharks fish", I asked him sarcastically between licks.

"You know what I mean. Plus, you brought an entire squad of sharks back with you. What, did you kill their friend in front of them or something?"

"Perhaps you'd like to be the one to explain to Starfire why Robin never came back from his swim when the shark eats him next time", I teased.

"Alright, break it up you two", said Robin. "You guys have all day tomorrow to bicker. Let's just try to make the best of today."

"So, now what", asked Raven. It was then that Cyborg's arm and my collar began to flash red (he and I were the only ones with their communicators on their physical person. The rest of our communicators were in the car).

"Now we kick some bad guy butt", said Cyborg. "Teen Titans, go", he shouted as he raced for the car.

"Hey, wait", said Robin as he called up to Cyborg.

"What for", he asked as he stopped and turned back to us.

"May we put some clothes on first", asked Starfire in reference to the fact that outside of the beach or a swimming pool, the Titans were practically running around with little to nothing on. I imitated my Muttley snicker again as Cyborg rolled his eyes.

Eventually the six of us made our way back to the Jump City police station. Both the chief and Doctor Von Goat had called us in due to a concern for a great many missing people.

"Missing? What do you mean they're all missing", asked Robin with suspicion in his voice. We were all standing at the front of the chief's desk in his office. Doctor Von Goat stood next to him as he sat. According to the chief, over the course of the past three days, an estimated thirty to fifty people had disappeared.

"How exactly does one just lose that many people at once", I asked them.

"And more importantly, where have they all gone", asked Starfire.

"We aren't exactly sure", said the chief bashfully, most likely embarrassed by how out of control he had allowed the situation to get.

"So about fifty people go missing, you have no clues or leads, you wait until three days have passed to alert us, after there had been no new police or official reports, and you expect my team to find them", asked an irritated Robin.

"I never said we didn't have a lead", began the chief. "Well, it's more of an official suspicion."

"What's so official about it", asked Cyborg.

"He's not fooling anyone", I began. "An official suspicion is just the police's fancy way of saying, that they have no proof of anything on anyone, so they're just pulling at straws."

"Once again, my prince, you are correct", began Doctor Von Goat. "However, after the chief called me back to help investigate, I, too have reason to believe that we indeed have a suspect, which is why we need your help."

"What exactly are we dealing with here", asked Raven. The chief then pulls out a remote and pushes a button. The lights in the room then start to dim as a projector screen appears on the wall to our right. Once the lights were low and the screen was set up, the projector behind us kicks on and begins playing some video footage. The video footage began with a small group of people, all of whom wore red cloaks, kinda like the one Raven wears, except these cloaks had masks built into them, and the hoods were much larger and pointed, to the point where they looked like red members of the Klan.

"Suddenly I feel _very_ uncomfortable", I said sarcastically.

"Yeah, you're not alone", added Cyborg. The small group of hoods consisted of four people, three men and one woman. They then gather in the middle of a large crowd of people as they passed by them. Once there, they stood in a crude circle, back-to-back, as they lifted their arms up and began preaching to the crowd.

"What are we watching? Who are they", asked Robin.

"They call themselves the Crimson Strings", began the chief. "Some time after the St. Patrick's Day Festival, these yahoos began walking around town spouting their cryptic jibberish. At first they seemed harmless, but then we started noticing that their group was slowly getting bigger, to the point where they seemed to spread like wildfire", he said as the video skips ahead a bit. What was once a small group of four, was now a larger group of approximately sixteen.

"Any chance we can get some sound", asked Beast Boy in reference to the fact that the footage we were watching was muted. The chief then turns up the volume as we listened to this new cult preach their beliefs.

"Dark times are ahead. Dark times are ahead. Heed our call and vow your loyalty to Master. Master will protect us. He will guide us on the path of light that the Titans wish to destroy."

"Say what", asked Cyborg hysterically. The red hoods then continued.

"Praise and honor our master. Master will save us. Master will show us the way. Master's way is the only way."

"O-kay, that's creepy", said Beast Boy.

"Who exactly is this "master" of theirs", asked Robin.

"He has yet to reveal himself", said the chief as he shook his head.

"If that's the case, then what was it that you sensed, Doctor", I asked the old man. It was clear that the police had no proof of any kind, meaning that if Doctor Von Goat had reason to believe that the Crimson Strings were involved, then it was probably due to his supernatural senses.

"We followed a group of them to the abandoned stadium on the other side of town. A large group of people went in, but when we followed them inside, they were gone. It was like they had simply vanished into thin air, so we waited for them outside. A few hours later, only four came out, only to return with more followers later. Though we could not figure out where they were disappearing to, I can say for certain that I could sense an evil presence from within the walls of the stadium."

"And you're saying this happened after St. Patrick's Day?"

"Yes, that's correct", said the chief.

 _I wonder if this is what the cloaked woman was referring to_ , I thought to myself as I had just realized that it had been three days since the festival, just as the woman had warned me.

"So, does anybody have a plan", asked Beast Boy as the projection ended and the lights turned back on.

"All we can do at this point is search the city and hope these red-heads pop up somewhere", said Cyborg.

"Not true", began Robin. "While half of us search the city, the other half will stake out the stadium", he continued as he focused his attention to me, implying that I would be one of the Titans on the "Stakeout Team". As a werewolf, I had no complaints about Robin's decision, in fact it was smart.

"If it's okay with you, I'll take Beast Boy and Starfire with me", I added. Before responding, Robin looks over to Raven, non-verbally asking her for any objection (he was a quick learner when it came to the concept of the supernatural). Raven, already understanding the reasoning behind my choices, simply nods in response.

"Alright, then Cyborg, Raven, and I will patrol the city."

"It's nearly 1:00", began Cyborg as he looked at a clock on his arm. "Let's meet at the stadium in three hours."

"Sir, yes, Sir", said Beast Boy with a dorky salute. The six of us all immediately made our way out of the station as we split into our two groups. The two human Titans drove down the road in the T-Car while Raven flew overhead. As for the rest of us, Starfire led the way as the three of us made our way to the stadium. Once there, we waited on the roof of a nearby building, and waited, and waited, and waited. After a good two hours of boredom, the silence was broken once again, by my stomach, which was _still_ running on empty.

"Shhh", said Starfire, who was the only one of the three of us that still had any enthusiasm about our stakeout at this point. Beast Boy and I were bored and irritated as Hell. "Shhh! Silence please", said a slightly irritated Starfire when my stomach growled again.

"How am I supposed to stop my stomach from growling".

"Well when you figure it out, let me know", groaned Beast Boy dramatically as he dropped to the ground as his stomach began growling as well.

"How can you two think of food at a time like this", asked Starfire.

"Cut us some slack. We haven't eaten since breakfast", I said as I also lowered myself to the ground to sit.

"And we're not the ones thinking of food", added Beast Boy. "Our stomachs have minds of their own."

"We are currently on a mission", began Starfire. "We do not have time for—", she continued before getting interrupted by her own stomach, whose growl was much louder than both me and Beast Boy's combined. "Then again some Frenched Fries would be nice", said a now defeated Starfire as she too, dropped to the ground.

"Ah, French fries with mustard, and ketchup, topped with jalapenos", began Beast Boy as his mouth began watering as he lied on his back.

"Shut up", I groaned as his ranting was only making things worse by making me feel even hungrier.

"Add a double tofu burger on an onion bun", he continued, ignoring me.

"Shut up, Beast Boy."

"Wash it all down with a thick, creamy chocolate shake—", he continued before I interrupted him by Changing into my wolf form and chomping on his leg. Despite him shrieking in response, I had no sympathy for him. "Dude, I am _not_ on the menu", said Beast Boy as he tried to pry off my jaws.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it", I asked him through my teeth as I continued gnawing on his leg in reference to when he previously tried to eat me, not that he remembered doing so. Though I was mostly teasing, as hungry as I was, and because my jaws were already biting down on him, a small primal part of me was tempted to eat him right then and there.

"Pardon me", began Starfire. The two of us froze in place from our little struggle to look over at her. "I am sorry to interrupt, but—", she began as she pointed over across the street. More red cloaks had gathered and were making their way to the stadium's entrance.

"Finally", I said as I released Beast Boy and trotted over to the edge of the roof by Starfire to observe. Beast Boy soon joined us, after taking a few moments to wince after my fangs released his leg.

"So what happens now", asked Beast Boy.

"We see what they're up to", I responded.

"But the cops already tried watching from the outside, and they didn't find out anything. And they followed them inside afterwards, and then they all disappeared. Unless we go in with them—", he began before I interrupted him.

"Glad you agree, 'cause that's the idea."

"Wait, what?"

"Splendid", chimed Starfire.

"Dude, I was joking."

"But it's our best chance to figure out what's going on. Since we can neither follow after them or watch from here, we'll just sneak in with them."

"How the heck are we supposed to do that?"

"Just follow my lead", I said as I noticed the last of the Crimson Strings following behind the others. "Let's move", I said as I hung by the edge of the roof, preparing to drop. "Come on, let's go."

"Alright, alright", groaned Beast Boy as he morphed into a hummingbird. I then Changed into my spider form and climbed onto his back.

"Starfire, you stay here. Call the others, and we'll catch up with you all later."

"Right", she said as she pulled out her communicator.

"Let's go, BB", I said to the tiny bird as I tapped his head with one of my legs. Beast Boy then takes off after the Strings, sneaking up behind the very last member at the end of the crowd. Once we were close enough, he morphed into a spider as well as we both landed on his back, sneaking a ride inside.

Once we were onboard, the cloaked member, as well as the other new recruits, were led into one of the stadium's locker rooms, which was made of brick for some reason. Once inside, they walked over to the wall on the far left of the immediate entrance. When the group came to a stop, Beast Boy and I crawled up the guy's back to peek over his shoulder. From there, we watched as the man leading the recruits stepped forward and removed a brick towards the center of the wall. It was a small detail, but before he pulled out the brick, I noticed that the cement surrounding it had been colored with a faded, yellow highlighter.

Once the brick was removed, the room began shaking a little as the wall itself split into two halves. After that, each half slid over to the sides as they acted like a pair of doors, revealing the entrance to a series of underground tunnels on the other side. It was at that moment that I began to immediately sense a supernatural presence.

" _That must be how they disappeared"_ , I said to Beast Boy. The Crimson Strings all then began making their way into the tunnels, the leader staying behind to close the wall after them, meaning that there was someone behind the person we were riding on. _"Beast Boy?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Whatever you do, don't morph"_ , I said to him as I knew what was coming.

" _What're talking abo—"_ , he began before being interrupted by the guy behind us. Upon seeing two spiders crawling on the other guy's back, naturally he swatted at us, throwing us into the tunnel wall in the process.

" _Run"_ , I said to Beast Boy when I noticed him instinctively preparing to morph. The two of us then scampered away as fast as our arachnid legs could go. We didn't have to run very far, as they didn't pursue us, so we stopped once we reached the corner of the wall as it closed off the entrance. Once there, we hid in the shadows while we waited for the two cloaked humans to continue ahead with the others.

"Fucking hate spiders", said the guy whom which we were climbing on, most likely grossed out upon discovered he had two spiders on his back.

"Come", said the guy who swatted us. "Master is waiting for us", he continued before they began walking deeper into the tunnels. My jaw (if I had one at the time) dropped a little upon hearing his voice, as it sounded familiar.

" _Hey, where you going"_ , asked Beast Boy when he noticed I was running after them. As a spider, I had to run to keep up with a human's walking pace.

" _Follow me. I gotta check something out."_ Beast Boy reluctantly followed me as I followed the crowd into the tunnels. Much like that night when Beast Boy first began sleepwalking in his werewolf form, we followed the cloaks for about a good ten minutes or so before we reached the entrance of another tunnel, though this one had lit torches along the walls. It was also worth noting that the supernatural presence I sensed when the brick wall opened up, felt even stronger now, which told me that we were close. As a werewolf, I could sense this powerful being, and based on the terrified look I noticed on Beast Boy's face, he could sense it, too.

Once again, the group stopped in front of the tunnel as they waited for their leader to walk to the front. He then pulled down his hood, revealing the human underneath, and as I had predicted, he was indeed someone I recognized.

" _Shade"_ , I asked aloud, though Beast Boy was the only one who heard and/or understood me at the time.

" _Who's Shade?"_

" _Just some douche I met the other day. But there's something "up" with him now"_ , I said in reference to the fact that Shade's tone of voice, attitude, and speech patterns were all completely different from when I first met him, almost like he was a totally different person. Shade's group responded by pulling down their hoods as well. I quickly noticed that a large number of the followers were patrons from the Gothic City café, which explained how Shade got involved with this bunch.

"My friends", began Shade, "you are now about to enter the dominion of your master. From this moment forward you will obey Master. You will worship Master. You will exist only to serve Master", he said as his eyes began to glow red.

"We exist to serve Master", chanted the crowd in a unified, zombie-like tone of voice. They had all been brainwashed. Something was definitely wrong here.

 _I warned him about the dangers of that Ouija Board._

"Followers of Master, I welcome you, to your new home", said Shade dramatically as he led the crowd into the tunnel, deeper into the supernatural presence's lair.

" _This is far enough for now. We better go meet with the others"_ , I said to Beast Boy. Without question, Beast Boy did an about-face, morphed into a rat, and ran back like Hell. Judging by his reaction, he also was fearful of the supernatural presence, too, as I could see no other reason why he could've been so spooked. _"Hey! "We" includes me"_ , I shouted back to him just before Changing into my snake form and slithering after him.

Once we were confident enough that we were far back enough to where the cloaks could neither see nor hear us, the two of us returned to our human forms and began walking back the way we came. We were forced to pause for a moment once we reached a fork that had a choice of three different paths we could take.

"Ah, shit", I said in irritation due to not remembering which path we took. To make matters worse, the tunnels were all wet and damp, making the task of finding a scent much more difficult then necessary. "Guess we'd better start sniffing."

"Dude, that'll take all day."

"You've got a better plan?"

"Just watch", said Beast Boy as he stepped forward. "Eenie, meenie, miney, mo", he continues as he points to the tunnel on the far left. He then begins to march into the tunnel, confident with his decision. Being the smart ass that I am, I decided to hang back for a moment and watch as I leaned against one of the tunnel walls. After a few moments of silence, Beast Boy shrieks as he runs back the way he came in a panic, being chased by a colony of bats. "Not mo! Not mo", he hollers as he tries to outrun his pursuers. I then stepped forward, and roared, Changing my eyes from brown to yellow for emphasis. Upon hearing my roar, the bats all made an immediate U-turn as they retreated back into their tunnel.

"So much for your idea", I said sarcastically as I helped Beast Boy off of the ground (he had tripped upon running out of the tunnel).

"What? I totally meant to do that."

"Really", I questioned him.

"Duh! Now we have only two choices, which was part of my plan", lied Beast Boy with a grin. "Now let's go this way", he suggested as he pointed to the tunnel on the far right.

"That way?"

"Yes, that way!"

"Okay, just so we're clear, _you_ think that _we_ should go _that_ way?"

"Yep."

"Well then I'm going _this_ way", I said as I headed for the middle tunnel.

"Come on", pleaded Beast Boy as he tugged at my arm, leading me to the right tunnel. "What's the worst that could happen?" It was then that the sound of a rock being kicked could be heard. "Ah! What was that", asked a jumpy Beast Boy as he hid behind me, while simultaneously pushing me forward.

"Ugh, let's go", I said as I rolled my eyes. We eventually made our way to another set of tunnels that were also lit up with torches. "Great idea, Beast Boy", I said sarcastically.

"Hey, I don't see you coming up with any ideas?"

"I'm pretty sure I suggested we take the middle tunnel."

"Well at least I found us some light", he bragged as he grabbed one of the torches.

"Not that we need any", I said in reference to the fact that if we wanted to see in the dark, we both could easily do so without the use of a torch.

" _Not that we need any_ ", mocked Beast Boy in a weird voice, as he had no other comeback to dish back at me. He then blindly goes down a random tunnel as I followed behind him. He then turns the corner at an intersection, causing him to scream in fear as he ran into somebody on the other side, who in turn screamed as well. Beast Boy, apparently so freaked out by the jump scare, wound up morphing into a cat and jumping onto my face, digging his claws into my skin as he did so. The torch he was holding fell into a puddle and was put out.

"Oh, hey, guys", said Cyborg as he, Robin, and Raven rounded the corner and faced us. Starfire was on the ground clutching at her heart and panting as she apparently fell over in response to being frightened herself.

"Uh, Beast Boy", I began in response to him still digging into my face. "Retract the claws, please", I continued as I poked him. Beast Boy then meows apologetically as he climbs off of my face, causing me to wince as he did so.

"Sorry about that", he chuckled nervously as he returned to his human form.

"What've we learned since we last met", asked Robin, pulling us back on topic.

"We found a secret entrance to these tunnels in the stadium's locker room. After that, we followed the cloaks down towards another tunnel entrance that seemed to host some sort of supernatural presence."

"Same with us", said Cyborg as he looked to Raven.

"I managed to make psychic contact with something, which is what led us here", said Raven.

"She found a tunnel entrance by the cliff where we found Beast Boy", added Cyborg in reference to when Beast Boy and I nearly drowned in the sewers.

"This presence seems to be some kind of evil spirit", suggested Raven.

"That'd be my guess", I agreed.

"And you think that's what's behind these "Crimson Strings"", asked Robin.

"That'd be my guess, too", I added. "And it gets worse."

"How so?"

"Whoever or whatever this spirit is, it's not recruiting, it's brainwashing, and it's starting to spread."

"Do we know why", asked Starfire.

"Who cares? If it's brainwashing people then we gotta kick its supernatural butt", said Cyborg.

"That's true, but on the other hand we wouldn't want to run into another fight blindly considering what happened last time", said Raven.

"That was _one_ time", exclaimed an irritated Cyborg in reference to her comment about how Gizmo almost killed him. "Let it go already."

"I'm just saying", shrugged Raven.

"Though I doubt it'll change anything, I think I know the spirit's endgame", I interrupted.

"What's that", asked Robin.

"Well, if it merely wanted to possess somebody like the typical spirit, it wouldn't need all of those other people. I think it is flat-out trying to cross over from the other side."

"Then maybe we should just let it cross over and deal with it when it gets here", suggested a scaredy-cat Beast Boy as he tried to slink away to the exit.

"Splendid idea. A brief regroup is just what is needed", added Starfire as she tried to follow behind him. "Eek", she shrieked briefly as she and Beast Boy were lifted up and brought back by Cyborg.

"No dice, Guys. We're settling this now."

"But why", whined Beast Boy.

"Well for one, we don't know what this crossover entails", said Robin. "Meaning we can't risk the safety of those it's taken."

"Plus, if we wait too long, it may just complicate things further", I added.

"How so", asked Starfire.

"As a wandering spirit, it's influence on the world of the living is limited. Yet despite that, in three days this spirit has managed to brainwash an entire cult and bring the law enforcement of this town to its knees. Imagine what kind of power it'll have once it's crossed over."

"Not to mention it'll be a giant middle finger to death itself", added Raven.

"Then that settles it", began Robin as he stepped to me. "Lead the way, Wolfman." In response to his command I dropped to all fours and Changed into my wolf form.

"This way", I said as I turned and pointed with my nose and body as if I were an English Pointer. I then began to lead and Robin and Raven back down the tunnel from where Beast Boy and I had come, when we noticed that the three others were still hanging behind for a brief moment.

"You coming", asked Robin as he, Raven, and I all stopped and looked back at the others.

"Ladies first", said Beast Boy to Starfire.

"Nonsense, I insist", replied Starfire as she tried to push Beast Boy from behind. I remember rolling my eyes at them for how needlessly cowardly they were both being. My inner thoughts were interrupted upon Cyborg revealing the _real_ reason why he chose to hang back with Starfire and Beast Boy, as he imitated an evil "mwhahahahaha" in a deep voice, which had more emphasis on it than usual due to the echo of the tunnel. Upon hearing Cyborg's evil laugh, Starfire and Beast Boy scream and take off down the tunnel in a panic, nearly running us over with Beast Boy struggling to keep up with Starfire as she flew off like a jet.

"What", asked Cyborg upon the rest of us looking back at him with looks as if to say, "really, Dude".

"Come on, we better go catch them", said Robin with a groan as he ran ahead. Raven, Cyborg, I followed his lead as we ran after him.


	25. King's Revenge

Once we caught up with the others and everybody had calmed down, we picked up from where we left off, with me leading the others back to where we last saw the Crimson Strings. As I led, Raven and Robin stayed towards the front of the group with me, most likely due to Raven also being able to sense the spirit's presence as well. As for the others, Cyborg stayed towards the middle, while Starfire and Beast Boy hesitantly followed behind us. After walking in silence for a few minutes, our little green friend decided to break it.

" It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking from the dark. Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart "

"Does this seem like the appropriate time for that", asked Raven sarcastically. Beast Boy then goes quiet for a moment, but then begins another song, though this time he decided to sing it a bit quieter.

" Casper, the Friendly Ghost. He's the friendliest ghost you know "

"Dude, seriously, knock it off", said Cyborg. Initially ignoring his comment, Beast Boy falls silent again, only to begin whispering another song moments later.

" There's something strange, in the neighborhood. Who you gonna call? Teen Titans " Having become irritated as well, I was the next one to comment.

"Beast Boy, I swear I will bite you again, and this time I will eat you", I threatened him. Once again, in response he fell quiet. I even looked back at him a few times to see if he would try singing again. Just when I thought he finally took the hint, he then begins humming the "Scooby-Doo" theme song to himself. "Ugh", I said with a growl as I could hear Raven and Cyborg suck their teeth.

"Can't you grow up for like five minutes please", asked Raven to Beast Boy as the group came to a stop.

"Okay, I admit it! I'm scared, okay", said Beast Boy.

"You don't say", responded Raven sarcastically.

"I'm trying to calm my nerves. Am I the only one here who remembers what happened the last time we took on a gang of ghosts?"

"He's kinda got a point there", said Cyborg as he scratched the back of his head.

"None of that matters right now", began Robin. "We have to keep going."

"That's easy for you to say. We can't all be as fearless as you and Wolfman."

"Who says I'm fearless", I asked him.

"You are fearful as well", asked Starfire.

"We're currently in one out of several dark tunnels deep underground, tunnels that probably honeycomb throughout the entire city, on our way to go take on a ghost and its league of brainwashed minions. We don't know what it wants, what it's capable of, or how many followers are waiting for us, and that's assuming there isn't another ghost or something far worse in store for us. I'm not scared, I'm terrified, and you'd have to be a fool not to be. But I can't think about that right now. Why? It's because I'm a Titan, not to mention the Elemental of Darkness. The safety of those innocent people hangs in the balance. Nobody is blaming you for being afraid, because at the end of the day, fear is natural. Courage on the other hand, is a choice. So tell me, what do you choose?" Beast Boy hesitates for a moment and takes a deep breath. After that, he morphs into a gorilla and puffs out his chest. Starfire then steps forward and positions herself next to Robin.

"We'd better get a move on", said Robin as he grinned at Starfire. Upon seeing his grin, Starfire gets a bit of a confidence boost and smiles back.

"No need to worry", I began as we continued walking. "We're almost there." A few moments later, we found ourselves standing in front of the tunnel path that was lit with torches. "Here we are", I said as I Pointed down the tunnel again.

"Doesn't seem so bad", said Robin as if trying to lighten everybody's mood.

"Hold that thought", said Raven in response to sensing something up ahead. I was also able to sense it, as was Beast Boy as he let out a low groan in response. It was then that a random gust of wind blasted at us through the tunnel, blowing out all of the torches in the process.

"Is this uncomfortable feeling shared with anyone else", asked a concerned Starfire.

"If you mean the sudden drop in temperature and that creepy, evil vibe in the air, then yes, it is", said Cyborg.

"Stay strong, Team", began Robin. "We'll be fine as long as we stand together."

"Then let's go", I added as I began stalking forward with my teammates following behind me. The six of us walked in the dark for another three minutes or so before we noticed another light at the end, which seemed to once again consist of mostly lit torches. As we got closer to the light, we noticed that the tunnel opened up to another room on the right. "Wait here", I whispered to the others as I began stalking towards the room's entrance.

"Hold it, Fido", said Cyborg as he pulled me back by my tail. I responded to this with an instinctive growl.

"Hands off the tail, Roboto."

"You must be a special kind of upid-stay to think you can take these guys on by yourself."

"I'm simply scouting ahead, Metal Mouth. And who are you calling "upid-stay"", I asked him with a growl as I turned and got in his face.

"You if the collar fits", replied Cyborg.

"Wanna run that by me again", I asked as I began snarling at him.

"Sure, the fact that you want to march in there without any backup makes you stupid", replied Cyborg as he now got in my face.

"I'm scouting ahead alone."

"We're all going together."

"Alone."

"Together."

"Alone!"

"Together!"

"ALONE!"

"TOGETHER!"

"ALONE!"

"TOGETHER!" This continued for a bit until Cyborg and I got into each other's faces so much to a point where we were touching foreheads as we glared at each other.

"That's enough, you two", said Robin as he physically got in the middle of us and pushed us away from each other.

"Perhaps a compromise", asked Starfire.

"I agree", added Robin. "Just like before, we'll split up again. Since you two are so eager, you both can be on the scouting team", he continued to me and Cyborg. The two of us sort of huffed in response. "Any volunteers for the third spot?"

"Well, if Starfire goes, that'll give each team one of the two head Titans, one psychic Titan, and one girl Titan", suggested Beast Boy as he returned to his human form. The rest of us all grew silent as we stopped and stared at him. "What?"

"That's actually not a bad idea", I admitted.

"It'll keep both teams relatively balanced", added Cyborg.

"Alright, but be alert", said Robin. "And at the first sign of trouble, we'll provide backup."

"Sounds good", said Cyborg as a flashlight popped out of his left shoulder and kicked on as he began walking towards the room's entrance. Before joining him and Starfire, I turned back to Raven, who nodded in response. In a last minute attempt to be cute, I whined a canine whine for a brief moment and then trotted up to catch up with the others.

Once the three of us turned around the corner into the other room, we immediately noticed the room was sort of like a cave-like clearing, sort of like what you saw in mines. Towards the center of the large room, were the Crimson Strings, all standing in a circle, with the exception of five individuals, all of whom they were facing. They all had the hoods to their red cloaks pulled onto their heads. On the ground, painted around the circle of people with what looked like blood, was a large circle with a star-like symbol in it that made the whole thing look kinda like the Seal of Orichalcos. Upon seeing them, the three of us took cover behind an abandoned steam shovel that was nearby.

"So what is the plan", whispered Starfire. As he was second in command to Robin, she and I looked to Cyborg for instruction.

"Right now we wait. Wolfman, see if you can give us a closer set of eyes. We'll move in on your signal." I nodded to him in response before Changing into my spider form. I then began making my way over to the crowd, climbing onto a nearby rock wall in the process. It was around this time that four of the five singled-out members pulled down their hoods and revealed themselves. The humans underneath the hoods didn't surprise me at all. From left to right, stood Shade, Nix, Morgue, and Stanley, with the fifth mystery member in the middle of Morgue and Nix. I also couldn't help but notice that the mystery member who kept his hood up was considerably larger than everyone else, as he had a very overweight build.

"Fellow Strings", began Stanley, "we welcome you to our Master's domain. Your sacrifice is much appreciated."

 _Sacrifice_ , I asked myself in astonishment. It was then that Stanley and the others began chanting.

"Lord of Darkness in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power", the four of them repeated over and over again. As that was going on, the crowd of hooded followers began chiming in with their own chant, kinda like a Satanic chorus.

"Peta, neru, mairen seshian. Peta, neru, mairen seshian", chanted the crowd. In response to this, the larger member stepped forward and extended one hand towards the crowd. It was then that the red circle underneath them began to glow, forming a barrier around them in the process. Once that happened, the crowd's chanting suddenly turned into painful screaming, though this didn't at all faze Shade and the other three.

"Enough", I roared as I launched myself off of the wall at the barrier, Changing into my wolf form and cloaking myself in my aura as I did so. My intent was to destroy the barrier. Unfortunately, it was too powerful for me to destroy, as its power repelled me backwards upon making contact with it. The cave wall cracked a little upon me smashing into it. As I fell to the ground and looked back up at the barrier, a feeling of guilt washed over me. I had waited to long to act, and now there was nothing I could do to save them from the ritualistic fate.

After a few moments more, the screaming comes to a halt as the barrier disappears. It was at this point I noticed that the sacrifices had all gone silent, as their eyes all glowed blue and iris-less, kinda like reverse demon eyes.

"I'm sure you're wondering what happened to them", said the larger member to me as he stepped forward and looked towards my direction. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about his voice was familiar, like I had met him before. "I'm sure your friends can tell you all about my powers", he continued as he snapped his fingers. In response, a bunch of red lights appeared all around the room surrounding the silent crowd of followers. Each light materialized into a person, revealing more silent Crimson String followers, each with blue demon eyes. The only three exceptions were Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy, all three of which were surrounded, as they had apparently been ambushed after splitting up with us.

"Sorry, Bro", said Beast Boy as he shrugged at me.

"Let them go, Whatever-Your-Name-Is", I growled at the hooded man.

"Oh, Titans", began the man, "perhaps you'd like to introduce me to your ignorant friend."

"It'd help if you took the cloak off", retorted Raven sarcastically.

"Then perhaps a hint then", suggested the man as he began going into an ego-stroking monologue. "I am the Master of Monsters. I am your darkest nightmares come to life. I control the horizontal and the vertical."

"No way", exclaimed a shocked Beast Boy.

"Whoa, didn't see that coming", added Raven.

"There's only one person I know who talks like that", said Robin. "Show yourself, Control Freak!" The mystery man then reveals himself as he pulls down his hood. He had a distinctive age line on his forehead, despite him being the same age as me, naturally dark rings around his blue eyes, which kinda made him look like a raccoon in that regard, and his orange sideburns and long hair, when you take into account his large weight, made him look like a human orangutan. My jaw dropped upon recognizing the bizarre-looking human, though I knew him by a different name than the others did.

"Nice try, Titans, but I am not the pathetic human you know as Control Freak", he began before changing his voice. "I merely speak through him", said Control Freak in a voice that sounded like a creepier, pedophilic version of Mumbo's voice.

"Now the name "Crimson Strings" make sense", said Raven upon recognizing the new voice.

"That's correct. You are correct to fear me. For I have returned to get my revenge for what you did to my body. I've been wandering in the shadows for what feels like an eternity, patiently waiting for my chance to return to your world. And thanks to your little friend, Shade, you now face me, The Puppet King."

"Wait, so that creepy ritual thing you just did….", began Beast Boy. "These people are….".

"Are all my puppets", began the Puppet King, "just as you'll soon be once I strip you all of your souls", he continued as a pyramid-shaped relic materialized on his sternum. More specifically, it was the Daemon Ritus from the live-action Scooby-Doo movie, which didn't at all surprise me given the Puppet King's host's obsession with movies.

"Not today, Pinocchio", shouted Cyborg as he fired his cannon at the ceiling. Starfire added to this by storming the ground with star bolts. Between the falling rocks, and the flying debris, Robin and the others were given the opening they needed as they all fought back and escaped while everybody scattered. It was around this time I noticed a particularly large rock falling to the ground. I took advantage of the situation by teleporting up to the falling rock and punching it towards Control Freak as if it were a volleyball. In response, Control Freak does a backflip and dodges, sticking the landing as he whipped out a weapon that looked like a cross between a light saber and a futuristic keyblade.

"What the", I asked in a shocked tone upon me landing on all fours. I was shocked by Control Freak's dodge, as the chubby nerd I knew was never that agile.

"Come, my puppets", said Control Freak as he pointed his weapon at me. His several dozen followers, all of which were soul-less shells at this point, all stepped forward and glared at me. I growled at them in response as Robin and the others stepped forward to join me.

"Cyborg, Starfire, hand-to-hand only", began Robin. "They're gonna want their bodies back in one piece when this is all over."

"So what's the plan", asked Cyborg.

"If we're taking on a madman possessed by an evil spirit, there's only two of us that have any kind of chance of exorcising him, so make an opening for them."

"Attack", shouted Control Freak. His minions responded by charging at us.

"Titans, go", shouted Robin as he led us into battle. Beast Boy immediately strikes first as he rushes ahead as a musk ox, barreling through the crowd as he cleared the way for us. Once we were deeper into the crowd, the six of us all broke away and began fighting. It was no challenge defending myself from Control Freak's drones, as they were all still everyday humans. If anything they were merely a nuisance as they outnumbered us approximately 10 to 1.

"Batter up, Beast Boy", I shouted over to the green kangaroo upon remembering that I was supposed to be focusing on Control Freak. Beast Boy, understanding what I wanted from him, then morphs into a t-rex and swats me with his tail, launching me at my opponent. Using the force of his launch, I Change into my bear form at the last second in an attempt to use my weight against him. Just as before, Control Freak responds with an agile dodge. He then swings his weapon at me as I block it with my claws. His weapon even made little "Star Wars" sound effects as I clashed with it.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", shouted Raven, now joining our battle, as she focused her aura on the ceiling again. Upon doing so, she cuts three large circles into the rock. After that, the three circle-shaped stone pillars drop from the ceiling towards us. Control Freak responds by leaping high into the air, again despite the unlikeliness, and slashing at the three pillars with lightning speed, reducing each of them to rubble in the process.

"Shadow Pulse", I shouted as I clapped my paws together towards the rubble as it prepared to rain down on me. The resulting shockwave sent the rubble flying back up towards the still airborne Control Freak, blinding him as dust and dirt got into his eyes. Raven took advantage of this by delivering a flying kick to his back. Despite this however, Control Freak's rocket shoes (he was apparently wearing rocket shoes) kick on as he flips in midair and rushes back at Raven.

Raven then creates an aura shield to defend herself as Control Freaks slashes at it with his weapon. I assist her by Changing into my armored form and flying after them. Once I reached them, I clamped my jaws onto Control Freak's left foot, destroying its respective rocket shoe in the process as it shorted out. He responds, temporarily ignoring Raven, by balling his free hand into a fist and pounding on the top of my head. With his attention now focused on me, Raven delivers another kick to Control Freak's other arm, causing him to drop his weapon.

With his other arm now weaponless, Control Freak attacks me with both fists, both of which punching each of my eyes. With my grip now loosened, he uses his single rocket shoe to spin around in circles until I eventually lost my grip, causing me to crash into Raven behind me.

"My bad", I said to her upon moving away from her. We then turned our attention back to Control Freak, who was making a dash for his weapon. Raven then uses her powers to summon the giant aura raven. The large bird lets out a deafening squawk as it reaches for Control Freak with its talons, making it a race to see who would get to the weapon first. Before he could grab it, I teleported down to the weapon and snatched it up with my teeth as I flew away with it. This causes Control Freak to hesitate, allowing the raven to capture him as he became engulfed in Raven's aura.

To his credit, Control Freak does escape with a creative method. From inside the aura raven's talons, he boosted the power of his single rocket shoe, to a point where it was like he was wearing a flamethrower on his foot. He then uses the mighty flame to pierce through Raven's aura, freeing himself as he did so. I responded by throwing his own weapon at his foot, destroying his other rocket boot as it sliced the side of it. He then plummeted to the ground as his weapon continued its path until it stuck itself into the wall.

As Control Freak struggled to rise to his feet, he was greeted by Cyborg, who had his cannon aimed right in his face. Starfire and Robin towered behind Control Freak while Tyranno Beast Boy towered behind Cyborg (they apparently had defeated all of the mindless minions). Raven and I continued to hover overhead.

"Flip him onto his back", said Robin as he reached down to grab Control Freak. Cyborg then assisted Robin as they rolled the large villain onto his back, exposing the Daemon Ritus. "Do it", he continued as he looked up at me and Raven. Without hesitation, the two of us fired streams of darkness at the artifact with the intention of destroying it. At the last second, the Daemon Ritus opens up just before our energies collided with it. We then noticed that instead of being hit by our darkness, it began absorbing it. "Raven, Wolfman, stop", commanded Robin upon realizing that our efforts weren't working. The two of us ceased firing, which resulted in the Daemon Ritus closing again. We all then began to worry upon the artifact beginning to glow.

"Ooops", I said with a hint of worry as it seemed Raven and I simply made things worse. The artifact then opens once more, though this time was far worse than before. Up from within the Daemon Ritus came six energy tentacles. Three of them were purple, and the other three were pitch black. It was using our auras against us.

"Titans, move", shouts Robin as we all did our best to try and escape. The three purple tentacles captured Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy (who was forced back into his human form), while two of the three black ones caught Starfire and Cyborg. I had just finished opening up a shadow portal in an attempt to out-maneuver the attack, but the tentacle caught me anyway, forcing me back into my human form as well as I crash-landed to the ground. Once we were all caught, Control Freak rose to his feet, cackling at us as he did so. The Puppet King then took over once again as his voice escaped his host's mouth.

"Come, my puppets. We've so much to do", he said creepily as the tentacles began sucking our energy from our bodies. Out the corner of my eye, I noticed Raven attempting to cast a spell.

"Azarath Metrion Zin—", she began with a struggle before the tentacle blocked her mouth.

"I am afraid that will not work twice", gloated the Puppet King. It was then that the tentacles' power over us kicked up a notch. I began to panic a little as I felt like I was losing all feeling in my body. I discovered why upon looking at the others. As I looked at the other Titans, I could see them resisting as ghostly white embodiments of themselves were in the process of being ripped from their bodies. The Puppet King was trying to steal our souls.

"Let us go", I roared at him. The Puppet King then makes his way over to me. He then leans down into my face, holding my face in one of his hands as he forced me to look up at him.

"Sorry, but you're not in charge here. You don't command me. _I_ command _you_ ", chuckled the creep. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of your body, and theirs", he continued as he turned my head towards the boys. I watched in horror as their souls were merely moments away from being taken. The Puppet King then turns me to face Starfire and Raven. Upon seeing Raven's soul being ripped from her body, I got all kinds of angry as I couldn't help but growl. "Do not waste your breath. Without her magic, you have no hope of escape. And soon, all of your psychic powers will belong to me."

"I've got news for you, Puppet King. I'm something of a magician myself."

"What?"

"Atlantis Auroros Motom", I roared as my aura began to radiate from my body.

"No", screamed the Puppet King. Despite this however, my soul did wind up leaving my body, as I could see my body glowing purple as the tentacle ripped me away from it. My aura then begins to burn brighter and brighter as it slowly started to turn white.

"What did you do", asked Raven, whose soul was being dragged away with mine.

"I don't know. I just hope it works." It was then that my aura finally exploded, as the entire room became surrounded in the blinding light. I passed out yet again (big shock).


	26. Switched Again

As I laid, struggling to regain consciousness, my mind, like in does, began to wander. Once again, it ventured into the past, as I was being shown a memory from several years ago. It was back to that terrible night in Box Elder. It was the night I gained the unwanted attention from a nasty pack of werewolves, and it was the last time I saw Control Freak prior to joining the Titans.

"Fernando", screamed an angry Control Freak as the police began dragging him away to their transport truck. "After everything I did for you? This is how you repay me? I will get you for this! Do you hear me", he screamed as he was being thrown into the back of the truck. "You will pa—", he begins to scream again before the door gets slammed into his face, interrupting him. The truck then pulls away, on its way to cart Control Freak to jail.

"You did good, Kid", said a police officer as he rested his hand on my shoulder. I was in my human form at the time. As the police officer walked away to tend to the investigation at hand, I took a look around at the damage. Adryen was speaking with a couple of more officers answering questions, while Ryan was lying down on a medical stretcher with bandages over his eye. The rubble upon which we all stood was once a lovely home for a relatively normal family. Now, it was reduced to ash, and the family of three that lived there had now been reduced to one.

"Then why do I feel so lousy", I mumbled to myself as I took in the devastation of what had happened. I continue to look around, until I notice the woman in the white cloak again.

"Awake, my prince", she said in a calm voice as she summoned another white light. The light increases in brightness until it eventually blinds me yet again. It was then I could feel the heat of the sun on my face as I slowly began to open my eyes. I was back outside, underneath the scorching sun's rays lying on my back, and my head was hurting badly.

"Oh man, where am I", I groan to myself as I sit up and rub the top of my head. My thought gets interrupted upon a Frisbee hitting me in the forehead. "Ow", I groan as it only made my headache worse.

"Sorry about that, Dude", said some kid as he ran over, grabbed his toy, and ran off. It was then I looked around and noticed that I was in the park, lying in the middle of the grass for some reason.

"What happened", I asked myself again. "How'd I get here? Oh yeah", I said as I shot onto my feet. I had just remembered that we were all fighting an evil spirit in a cave underground. I begin looking around the park in a sort of panic, desperately looking for the others. I feel an awkward combination of relief and more panic upon noticing an unconscious Raven underneath a tree. "Raven", I shout as I run over to her. Before I could reach her, I noticed her eyes beginning to open, as she had heard me calling to her. "Oh, thank God", I said with a sharp exhale after running up to her. "I'm so glad you're alright", I said as I hung my head as I was catching my breath. When I looked back up, I noticed that Raven was back on her feet, but something was wrong. Raven seemed a lot taller than normal, and I was getting a different vibe from her, as my heart was neither racing out of control or trying to match hers. She also began looking over herself in confusion, as if something was out of place. "Is everything okay, Raven?"

"I'm cool", began Raven with her back turned to me in a voice that was not her own, "except I'm not Raven", she continued in a somewhat panicky tone. I recognized the masculine voice escaping Raven's mouth immediately.

"Cyborg", I asked in confusion.

"What the? Wolfman", asked Cyborg.

"Uh, yeah? Who did you think you were talking to? And why are you suddenly so much taller than me?"

"Friends, I believe we have a problem", said Starfire from off to the side.

"Oh, hey, Star—", I began before dropping my jaw in astonishment as I turned to face Starfire. Instead of Starfire, I instead saw my human form, with Starfire's voice. "What the? Who the? What in the", I began stuttering as I was finding it difficult to process Starfire being in my body.

"At least I'm not the only one that got gender-swapped", said Cyborg sarcastically.

"Hold up", I began. "If he's Raven, and you're me, then who am I", I asked as I looked down at myself. Upon seeing that I was dressed from head to toe in a purple and black uniform, I finally understood why everyone seemed taller. "Aw, man. I'm Beast Boy", I whined.

"This cannot be happening", began a worried Starfire. "This is even worse than when I was Raven."

"In that case do you wanna trade", asked Cyborg.

"Nobody's trading anything until all of our bodies are accounted for", I said. "And what's wrong with my body", I asked Starfire feeling a little offended.

"Nothing", lied Starfire as she awkwardly tried to play off her comment. It was weird as Hell seeing Starfire talk through me.

"Look, let's all just try and stay calm", began Cyborg, "and let's go find—"

"Robin", interrupted an excited Starfire as she looked behind me. Cyborg and I then turn to where she was looking, and sure enough, a few feet away stood Robin, though something was off about him. "Robin", asked Starfire as she stepped forward preparing to walk to him. She stopped when Cyborg put an arm out to stop her.

"Uh-uh, something's not right here", said Cyborg, also sensing that something was wrong.

"What do you mean?"

" _That's_ what he means", I said as I pointed behind Robin. It was then that two more Titans appeared and walked up to Robin's sides. The problem was that the two Titans in question were Cyborg and Starfire.

"This is quite trippy, correct", asked Starfire.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, this is trippy", said Cyborg. A part of me was tempted to ask to see if any of the three Titans in front of us were Robin, Beast Boy, or Raven, but my answer came before I could even say anything. Robin pulled out his bo-staff, Starfire's fists began to glow green, Cyborg's arm turned into a cannon, and all three of their eyes began to glow blue, just like the drones from the cave.

"Ah, crap", I said upon realizing that they were also empty shells.

"Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way", said Cyborg as he stepped forward and rolled up his sleeves.

"You can't be serious", I said in disbelief.

"Don't worry, I know Raven's magic words like the back of my hand."

"What good is that gonna do? Knowing the words, and knowing how to use them are two very different things."

"Oh yeah? Watch this", said Cyborg as he stuck one of his arms forward with the palm aimed at his empty shell. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos", he says confidently with a grin. In response to his spell, Raven's aura discharges from his hand in random sparks as it was completely out of control. As it zapped the ground that surrounded us, Starfire shrieked in panic, which caused her to accidentally use some of my powers as she accidentally fired a Shadow Ball at a nearby car that was parked by the sidewalk. The car then bursts into flames as it explodes upon being blasted. The nearby patrons all began to run away in a panic as the three of us just stood there awkwardly as we processed what had just happened.

"We are so doomed", I said having little to no confidence in our current fighting abilities. It was then that soul-less Cyborg took aim as he pointed his cannon at us. "Starfire, do something."

"What should I do?"

"Anything, but quick."

"Like right now", added Cyborg.

"Uh, um, oh, I know", said Starfire upon remembering one of my attacks. "I believe it is called, "Morado Laser"", she said just before accidentally firing a blast of dark energy through her torso. Her blast collided with Cyborg's cannon in midair. The resulting explosion sent all six of us flying backwards. After we crashed, I utilized Beast Boy's powers and morphed into a horse.

" _Get on"_ , I neighed to them, not that they could understand me, as I lowered myself to the ground. Once they were on my back, I galloped like Hell in an attempt to get to safety. As expected, I easily lost Robin and Cyborg's empty shells as they ran after us on foot, but Starfire's was more difficult to lose, as she fired star bolts at us from above while I desperately tried to outrun her.

"We need to go faster", said Cyborg as he tugged at my mane.

"No faster, please", groaned Starfire, who sounded like she was in pain. "I'd much rather be blasted by my doppelganger than endure more speed."

"Why's that", asked Cyborg. Starfire naturally didn't answer him, as she was too embarrassed to say why, but I knew exactly what she was talking about. Cyborg must've forgotten that Starfire was a woman whose soul was trapped in a man's body, so there were certain _elements_ she was not used to. That being said, let's just say there is a reason why saddles were invented, because for guys, it hurts like Hell to ride on a horse bareback.

 _I'm probably going to be feeling that later_ , I thought to myself in reference to the abuse my crotch was receiving. After running down a few streets in an attempt to escape the barrage of star bolts, Starfire had finally had enough.

"Forgive me, Friends, but I cannot tolerate this any longer", said Starfire. I looked back at her for a moment to see that her eyes, or rather my eyes, began to glow purple as she tried using my powers.

" _No, wait"_ , I neighed. Before I could stop her, Starfire managed to teleport the three of us away from our enemy. The good news was that now we were dramatically far away from the soul-less Starfire that was pursuing us. The bad news? Well, thanks to Starfire having no remote idea on how to use my powers, she wound up teleporting us a few feet above the tree where we first discovered we'd all switched bodies. I morphed back into Beast Boy's human form as a result of the three of us crashing through the branches on our way to the ground.

"Great, back where we started", said Cyborg as we all rose to our feet. Because we weren't too far away from them, it took no time at all for soul-less Robin and Cyborg to track us down.

"You two take cover", I said as I stepped forward. "Leave these two to me."

"Again with this whole "lone wolf" thing", asked Cyborg. "You can't fight them by yourself."

"Yes, I can. And unless you two learn how to control me and Raven's powers within the next five minutes, I will." Without another word I took advantage of Beast Boy's powers and kicked these up a notch by morphing into his werewolf form. I remembered feeling slightly envious of Beast Boy as his werewolf form was much larger and more powerful than mine was.

With a roar I lunged at the Robin and Cyborg's bodies, both of whom dodged easily. Despite them being empty shells, both fought back as if they were still the real Cyborg and Robin. Cyborg's shell still swung punches and fired cannon blasts and missiles with devastating force and accuracy, while Robin's still held its own as a hand-to-hand combat opponent. Despite this however, the strength of Beast Boy's werewolf form was monstrous as I plowed through their attacks like they were nothing. Robin was easily tossed around like a rag doll whenever I swatted at him, and Beast Boy's werewolf claws were so sharp that I managed to leave a rather large set of claw marks on Cyborg's metal stomach.

"Yo! Wolfman", shouted Cyborg from the sidelines. Since both of my opponents were in the process of recovering from the ground, I took a moment to look away at Cyborg. "Two things, first, watch the merchandise", he said in reference to me clawing at his body. I snorted at him in response. "And two, something's wrong with Star", he said as I just noticed that Starfire had an arm draped over Cyborg as he was supporting her. My body was dripping with sweat, as Starfire looked like she was about to pass out.

"I do not feel so well", said Starfire weakly. As she looked up at me, I noticed her now brown eyes turn yellow. Upon seeing that I ignored the two empty shells and lunged at Cyborg and Starfire with a snarl. I then separated the two of them as I threw Starfire off to the side and stood in front of Cyborg.

"Dude, what is your—", began a shocked Cyborg. I interrupted him by lifting up my arm, preventing him from rushing over to Starfire. She was too dangerous to be around, because thanks to me, I sparked her animal instincts. She somehow managed to ignore being near a half-demon, but by adding Beast Boy's werewolf form into the mix, my body's werewolf instincts were kicking in. Starfire was preparing to Change, and the reason she was feeling sick was due to the Change being against her will. To try to reverse or stop the Change was too dangerous, so Starfire was going to have to endure the pain.

"What—what is happening? Friends, help me", shouted Starfire as the pain from the Change caused Starfire to sort of pulse as the bones in her/my body began to break and shift out of place under the skin.

 _Hang in there, Starfire_ , I thought to myself as I watched the Change taking complete control over her as my uniform was gradually beginning to tear and rip. When an animagus masters the process of how to Change, their clothes sort of disappear as they Change (again, don't ask me how it works or where the clothes go). However, since Starfire didn't know how to control it, there was no saving my uniform as Starfire began Changing from primate to canine.

"Star", exclaims Cyborg as he tried running around me to get to Starfire. In response to this I jumped in front of him again. When he looked up at me as if to ask why, I shook my head at him. There was nothing that could be done, except wait it out, which felt like an eternity as we were forced to listen to Starfire scream in pain and agony. Eventually, the Change was complete as Starfire, still in my body, stood before us on all fours as a three-foot tall, 240-pound werewolf with black fur and yellow eyes. "Well, I'm glad that's over. And thank you for your patience", continued Cyborg sarcastically to the empty shells in reference to the fact that they had been patiently waiting for Starfire to finish Changing.

 _That's odd_ , I thought to myself as I looked at the mindless drones. _What're they waiting for?_ My thoughts were interrupted upon hearing a growl, followed by a snarl and an exclamation from Cyborg.

"Whoa", he shouts as it sounded like he dove out of the way. I turned towards him just in time to see Starfire lunging at me with her teeth and claws poised at me for attack. The next thing I know, me and Starfire are locked in combat for the umpteenth time as the two of us tumble over each other, biting and snarling at one another as we did so. "Oh, come on! Seriously, Guys", asked an irritated Cyborg. To his credit, that wasn't the time for us to be fighting each other. However, Starfire, having no control of her new lycanthropic powers and urges, was completely consumed by primal rage and instinct, making it impossible to reason with her in her current state. The fighting between us goes on for a few minutes until I finally managed to pin Starfire onto her back. It was then that the three soul-less Titans (Starfire's empty shell had returned to join us at this point) seemed to remember that they were there to defeat us as they stepped forward and prepared to fight again.

 _Oh, I'm sorry, are we boring you_ , I asked sarcastically to myself with a growl.

"Switching bodies, mindless zombies, fighting werewolves, could this day get any weirder", asked Cyborg behind me. It was then that God expressed his sense of humor as things did indeed get much, much weirder. Just as the mindless drones were about to close in on me and Starfire, a large yellow and red aircraft flies and hovers over us, making this eerie humming noise as it did so. "Oh no", groaned Cyborg in a defeated tone as if to say, "not again".

 _What do you mean, "oh no"_ , I thought to myself as I looked back at Cyborg. It was then that the aircraft answered my question as it fired a light blue beam of light from underneath itself at me and Starfire. _Oh dear_ , I thought to myself with a canine whine as Starfire and I suddenly became consumed by a white flash. When I came to, I found myself lying on my side on a cold, metal floor. The room I was in was mostly dark, with a large, single spotlight over me. As I slowly began to sit up, I noticed that I had morphed back into Beast Boy's human form. "Okay, so where am I now?"

"You are currently on an aircraft belonging to my captor, Soto", said someone with an accent that sounded almost British. Upon hearing it, I began looking around to see where the voice was coming from.

"Who said that?"

"I did", said the voice again. I continued to look around until I eventually made eye contact with Starfire, still in my wolf form, though she was much calmer than she was earlier.

"That wasn't me", she said as she shook her head at me, in reference to the voice I heard.

"Then who was it?"

"That would be me, good sir", said the voice as I noticed a green paw being raised into the air out the corner of my eye. I then looked over and noticed that it was a green dog that was speaking to me.

"Um, Beast Boy", I asked as I was confused as to how and why there was a talking, green dog speaking to me, even though I was currently occupying Beast Boy's body.

"Not quite, though I seem to get that a lot whenever I come to this particular planet", said the dog.

"This planet? Okay, what's going on here?"

"Soto's home", shouts another unknown voice through the walls of the room. It was then that part of the floor drops to make a flight of stairs, confirming what the dog said to be true, that I was indeed on an aircraft, specifically what looked to be an alien aircraft. After that, a large "being" marched up the stairs carrying two armfuls of squeaky toys. The being wore a large, yellow onesie, like the kind that infants, toddlers, and otherwise small children wore, complete with a butt flap in the back. The being also had a square-shaped head made of stone, and he towered over the three of us at a height of approximately fifteen feet. "Lookie what Soto brought", said a cheerful giant as he dropped the squeaky toys on top of the three of us.

"Hey! Watch it", I said to him as I dug myself out of the pile of toys. The giant rock head responded by simply plopping onto his bottom to sit in front of us. "Uh, what's the matter", I asked him in reference to the fact that he kept staring at me and the others with this creepy smile on his face. Before he had a chance to give me an answer, my, or rather Beast Boy's stomach let out another loud growl.

"Soto's other dog must be hungry", said Soto as he rose back onto his feet. "Beg."

"Excuse me", I asked as if I wasn't hearing him correctly.

"Soto said, "beg"", repeated the giant alien in an irritated voice.

"Okay, that's it", I began as I had officially lost my patience, "this is where I draw the line. At least Killer Moth gave me orders to fetch and attack."

"Bad dog! Soto said, "beg"", shouts Soto as he whips out what looked kind of like a garage door opener and points it at me.

"And Wolfman said—", I began before being interrupted as Soto pushed a button on what I discovered was in reality a remote. In response to him pushing the button, I found myself being electrocuted, revealing that I was wearing a shock collar of some kind around my neck. "Why you dirty, little—", I began with a growl as I picked myself up off of the floor. I morphed back into Beast Boy's werewolf form as I lunged at Soto with a snarl.

"Bad dog", repeated Soto as he pushed another button. In response to this, I found myself being tugged backwards in midair, revealing that my collar was attached to a red leash, which was attached to a hook bolted to the floor, as I crashed onto my back.

 _What the Hell_ , I asked myself as I examined the leash. It wasn't exactly a red leash, but I soon discovered that it was somehow reinforced by some kind of red laser-like energy source as I struggled to chew or slash through it with my teeth and claws. Upon seeing me attempting to destroy the leash, Soto pushes the first button again as I was once again electrocuted.

"Wolfman", shouted Starfire as the voltage forced me back down to Beast Boy's human form as I fell to the ground again.

"Bad dog. You should not try to escape", scolded Soto.

"The thing is", I began weakly as I sat myself up, "I am _not_ your dog." Soto responded by simply shocking me again, which of course forced me onto my back again. "Ugh, Beast Boy's going to be feeling this later", I groaned to myself. If I had been in my own body at the time, Soto's shock therapy might not have hurt as much, as it wasn't the first time I had been electrocuted. Hell, Asia alone subjected me to even worse shock treatments back when we were cubs having sparring practice. However, since I was in Beast Boy's body, each volt was ten times worse than it normally would've been.

"Bad dog! Soto said, "beg"! Beg beg beg!" When I failed to do as he asked, he shocked me again. This time it wasn't in defiance. I simply was struggling to move as Beast Boy's body had taken a lot of damage from the shock treatments. As I laid on the floor struggling to catch my breath, I shot a glare at Soto, as if to ask him if his intention was to keep shocking me until I moved fast enough for him. Soto, taking mental note of my nonverbal challenge responds by turning his attention to Starfire and the green dog.

"Beg", he shouts just before pushing the button, not even giving them a chance to carry out his command before shocking them. The two of them whine canine whines as the volts surge throughout their bodies. When the punishment had passed, they both immediately assumed their positions as they began begging to Soto with their front paws in the air. Soto then looks back down at me with a stern look on his face as he pointed his remote at the others, threatening to shock them again unless I cooperated. With a reluctant growl, as I had no choice, I morphed again, this time into a regular wolf, and began begging as well. "Good dog! Very good doggy", cheered Soto as if he was suffering from a severe mood swing. He then reached down and pets me while I awkwardly restrained myself from biting him. Soto then stands back up and walks away from us to the other side of the ship (which was really just one huge room).

"My bad, guys", I whispered to the others as I morphed back into Beast Boy's human form. "Are you two okay?"

"We are fine for the moment", whispered Starfire.

"Shhh! Here he comes", scolded the green dog as he pointed out that Soto was about to turn around. Before he could notice I morphed back into a wolf as Soto came back to us with a large pet food bowl in his hands. He then places it on the ground, revealing that it was filled with what looked like chicken legs, except they were either purple with polka dots, or yellow with green stripes, which made them look more like strange-looking lollipops. Naturally Starfire and I hesitated, as we weren't sure whether or not to trust Soto's offer of food. The only reason we wound up eating, besides the fear of being shocked if we didn't, was because the green dog rushed forward and sank his teeth into the meal we had been presented, and we simply had followed his lead.

"Good doggies", cheered an amused Soto. "Soto be back later to play with Soto's new dogs", he continued as he turned and stomped over to the far other side of his ship. Once there, he kicks on the lights and focusses his attention on a large television-like screen which I assumed acted as the ship's monitor. It was then I noticed that one of the control panels, specifically the one on the upper left-hand side of the central controls, looked like a toy piano, the kind you give to one-year-olds. The panel even made the little toy-like noises as he pushed the buttons on it. In fact, several other buttons and panels looked and sounded like a series of toys you gave to babies and toddlers.

" _What the Hell"_ , I whispered to myself in disbelief as I paused from eating to look up at Soto as he giggled to himself as he pushed the musical and colorful buttons. Eventually, Soto pushed the desired combination of buttons that allowed him to receive cable television on his ship's monitor (I didn't question how he managed that as it seemed like his entire ship was really just a giant Fischer Price toy). And if that weren't enough, as if to insulting add onto his toddler-like behavior, Soto then goes on to flip through the channels, until he finally stopped upon finding a channel playing an episode of "Sesame Street".

"Yay", cheered the giant alien as he plopped onto his bottom again. "Soto likes Sesame! Elmo is funny", he chuckled to himself as he clapped his hands for a bit.

" _Oh dear God, I'm in Hell"_ , I mumbled to myself as I absorbed the gravity of the situation. I was essentially being held hostage by a giant baby, who either mistook me for his pet dog, or simply doesn't care whether or not I was a dog and claimed me as his property anyway.

"Fret not, my friend", whispered the green dog.

" _Shhhh"_ , I growled at him quietly in response. _You spreken, right"_ , I asked him in reference to animals' universal understanding of one another (mostly).

" _I, as you say, spreken"_ , he responded.

" _How about you, Star?"_

"Oh, glorious! I understand you", she said excitedly.

" _Shhhh"_ , growled me and the green dog.

" _I mean, glorious I understand you"_ , she repeated with a low growl. It was really bizarre speaking to essentially myself outside of a hallucination or illusion.

" _Good, now we can plan."_

" _Um, excuse me, plan what exactly"_ , asked the green dog.

" _A jailbreak."_

" _Wonderful"_ , began Starfire. _"Then we shall return to our friends and reclaim our bodies."_

" _So, switched bodies, eh? I thought you sounded a bit too feminine, Werewolf. And your voice sounds a bit familiar while I am thinking about it. You're the orange one, aren't you? I believe your people come from Tamaran?"_

" _Yeah, that's my body she's strutting around in."_

" _I see. And this all happened before my captor abducted you I presume?"_

" _Same day, in fact"_ , I responded.

" _Which is why we must escape and free the others. For all we know, Cyborg has been captured as well in our absence. Tell us, Wolfman, what is our plan of escape?"_

" _My, my, you certainly work fast"_ , said the green dog.

" _Whoa whoa whoa, hold up. I said that we needed to_ start _planning, not that I already_ had _a plan."_

" _Splendid. You are doomed then, and you two shall forever be my captor's newest pets."_

" _Well excuse me, Double Mint"_ , I began in reference to his green fur. _"What should I call you, by the way?"_

" _Look here, Sir, I'm merely my captor's play thing. He never gave me a name."_

" _Well then what breed are you?"_

" _I don't even know from which planet I was born. With the exception of my brief moment of freedom the last time I visited your planet, I've spent my entire life right here in this ship."_

" _That's most unfortunate"_ , sympathized Starfire.

" _Then that's all the more reason why we need to get out of here."_

" _How do you mean, Sir?"_

" _It's clear that Soto is nothing more than an angry child. In fact, he's more like an extremely spoiled toddler whose parents never told him, "no". He's not old enough to have a pet, and more importantly, he's far too dangerous to have one even if he was."_

" _What're you saying?"_

" _Isn't it obvious? What I'm saying is that if Starfire and I bust outta here, you're busting out, too."_ The green dog's tail wagged a bit upon being included in our escape plans.

" _Yes, but how are we going to escape"_ , asked Starfire.

" _I'm thinking, I'm thinking"_ , I said to her just before attempting to bite my way through my leash again.

" _Do not bother, Wolf"_ , began the green dog, _"these leashes and collars are designed to restrain the body and all its abilities. The leash and collar will adapt to your shapeshifting, and my abilities are also useless."_

" _Abilities"_ , I asked as I was now curious about the green dog's so-called "abilities".

" _Speaking of shapeshifting, I must say, I am curious as to how you were able to master Beast Boy's powers so easily, Wolfman"_ , said Starfire.

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Well, you were able to unlock Beast Boy's most ferocious form without going savage, whereas I struggle to control yours."_

" _Oooh, yeah, about that, I probably should've gave you a heads up. You learn to control instincts eventually, not that I plan to keep you in that body long enough for you to do so."_

" _There is no need to apologize. Though I wish to know how you were able to adapt to Beast Boy's body."_

" _What, this wimpy thing? It damn near collapsed after the first shock, unlike for you two."_

" _Yes, I must say you seem to be quite resilient to electrocution."_

" _I'd imagine I'm a bit tolerant of it, too, as I've been shocked since I was a pup."_

" _Lucky bastard"_ , I muttered in reference to the pain inflicted by Soto's shock treatments. _"But to answer your question, Star, I took a bit of a gamble."_

" _What kind of a gamble?"_

" _Well, since I am a werewolf, and I had been shapeshifting long before any of this bullshit with the Puppet King, I figured…. wait a second. Starfire, before Soto showed up, you tried using my powers, too."_

" _Yes?"_

" _Well when I tried using Beast Boy's powers, I was able to do so because I pretended that I was back in my body. I pretended I was Changing into my werewolf form, so I became Beast Boy's werewolf form. So…."_

" _So if I pretend to fire a star bolt…."_ , she began as she lifted up her paw. As I had predicted, by focusing on my powers just as she would for her own, Starfire's paw began to become encased in my purple aura. Upon seeing her paw glow she became a tad excited. _"Glorious. I believe this is a Shadow Ball, correct"_ , she asked as she prepared to blast the hooks on the floor with it.

" _No, no, no! Wait a second, Star"_ , I said interrupting her.

" _But why?"_

" _Forget the hooks. We need to get rid of the collars. Use your Shadow Claw."_

" _My what?"_

" _Oh, right"_ , I stumbled a bit upon realizing she wasn't familiar with my dorky nerd reference. _"Um, focus my aura into your claws."_

" _How do I do that?"_ It was then that I remembered the comment Starfire made about being inside Raven's body, implying that this had happened before.

" _Just do what Raven would do. Find your center."_ Upon hearing me say that to her, Starfire gasped a tad and looked at me with a shocked look on her face. She then closed her eyes, and fell silent for a moment. She remained like that in concentration until eventually my purple aura moved from cloaking her entire paw, to the inside of her claws, causing them to glow purple.

" _Shadow…. Claw"_ , growled Starfire as she sliced through my collar.

"Alright", I said in excitement as I morphed back into Beast Boy's human form.

"Hey", shouted Soto as he turned around towards us in response to hearing my English-speaking voice.

"Oops", I muttered as I noticed him rising to his feet and stomping towards us.

"You've been a bad dog. A very, very, very bad—", began Soto with the remote in his hand before I interrupted him with a lion's roar, still in human form mind you. The suddenness of my roar cause Soto to jump a little.

"Um, since when was Beast Boy able to do that", asked Starfire in reference to the fact that I didn't morph first.

"Again, didn't know he could. I just tried something and it worked."

"Grrrr", growled Soto as he stomped towards us again.

"Free yourselves while I try something else", I yelled back to Starfire as I rushed at Soto. Once I was close enough, I morphed again, this time into a llama.

"Huh", asked Soto as he came to a halt again, confused by my choice of animal. In response, I did what llamas are known for doing and spit into his eyes, which was impressive considering how much taller he was in comparison to me. "Ahhhh", hollered the giant toddler as he stumbled backwards blindly. I then morphed into a kangaroo and launched myself up at him. This resulted in me jumping from Soto's right hand, which caused him to drop his remote, and onto the top of his head. Once there, I morphed into a gorilla and began pounding away at him with my fists.

" _Hurry! I can't keep this up"_ , I roared at the others as Soto began shaking his head violently in an attempt to knock me off. _"Guys! Hurry uuuuuuuuuuuuuup"_ , I hollered upon losing my grip and being thrown into the wall by the t.v.. As I slid down to the floor, I morphed back into Beast Boy's human form. "That wasn't fun." It was at this point that Soto got _really_ pissed at me and barreled into a full on sprint towards me. "And neither is that", I continued before morphing into a bunny and running away from Soto. As I zigzagged and weaved throughout the ship and in between his legs, I eventually found myself trapped in a corner. "Fuck", I muttered as I lowered my ears as Soto towered over me.

"Soto smash", he hollered as he lowered his fist down on me. At the last second, I morphed into an ankylosaurus, resulting in the alien punching shell-like back. "Ow! Doggie hurt Soto! Soto punish", he hollers just before unleashing a series of punching to my back.

" _Guys, any, time, now"_ , I grunted at the others between punches.

"Soto smash, again", hollered Soto as he lifted up both fists in preparation for another attack. It was then that Starfire finally joined the fight as she lunged at Soto and punched him in the back of the head. This gave me the opening I needed to swing my tail at his torso, sending him flying backwards into his control panel.

"About time", I said sarcastically to Starfire as I morphed back into human form again. "Oh, and look at you, all purply and glowy", I teased in reference to the fact that Starfire was now completely cloaked in my aura as she had apparently taught herself how to use my dark powers to levitate, though she was still in my wolf form. Starfire simply giggled in response.

"Soto….", began Soto weakly as he tried rising to his feet, drawing me and Starfire's attention.

"Ah, crap", I muttered as I prepared to morph again.

"Soto…. Soto…. Soto—", he said just as he managed to sit himself up, only to be interrupted by his original dog, who had hopped onto the control panel on his left.

"Oh, Soto", sang the green dog as he grabbed his attention. The dog then responded by spitting in his eyes again, though his saliva was slimier and gooier than most saliva, to a point where I shivered upon being reminded of the time Fang hacked up his loogie webs at me.

With Soto blinded again, the dog continued his assaulted by opening his jaws and shooting his tongue out, which I soon discovered was able to extend to great lengths, and wrapped wrapped it around the top of Soto's head. To give you an idea of how long this dog's tongue was, imagine that instead of a dog, he was a Bulbasaur, and that his tongue was instead a vine during a Vine Whip attack. The dog then continued his attack as he yanked Soto's head back and slammed it onto the control panel, knocking the alien unconscious in the process. The dog then walked towards the center of the control panel and pushed a large, red button, which lowered the door of the ship.

"Now then, shall we", he asked as he looked at me and Starfire. Without question, Starfire deactivated my aura while I morphed back into a wolf. We three canines then made our escape as we ran down the ramp and off of the ship.


	27. The B-Team

Upon exiting Soto's ship, we discovered that he had parked in the woods to the north of the city. This was made evident upon noticing that the clearing he brought us to was the same one that Beast Boy and I had created three days prior.

" _So, where to"_ , asked Starfire.

" _Where else? We're going back to the stadium, and saving our friends."_

" _Might I ask who or what we are saving your comrades from"_ , asked the green dog.

" _A most formidable adversary known as Control Freak, who is not truly the Control Freak currently as he has been taken over by the believed-to-be-deceased Puppet King"_ , replied Starfire. The green dog responded by raising his eyebrow and looking towards me for confirmation.

" _Trust me, we find it crazy, too."_

" _I must say, your planet never fails to disappoint. Shall we get a move on then?"_

" _Our green friend is correct, Wolfman. We must act quickly."_

" _Alright, let's move"_ , I said with a growl as I started to race towards the city, with my two teammates following behind me. Eventually, after passing by familiar sites such as Serenity's apartment building and Pizza Corner, the three of us made it back to the stadium, more specifically, the spot across the street where me, Starfire, and Beast Boy waited during our stakeout. _"Get down"_ , I whispered as I lowered my body to the ground upon noticing that the Crimson Strings were all gathered outside the stadium, including Control Freak/The Puppet King.

"My loyal puppets, what have you brought me", asked the Puppet King to Shade as he approached him from off towards our left.

"Unfortunately, Master, they managed to escape, except for this one", said Shade as he turns around to the group that were walking up behind him, which consisted of two more of the Puppet King's minions (Cyborg and Starfire's empty shells), and their prisoner, Cyborg, who was still trapped in Raven's body. "We followed this one back to their headquarters. Security was surprisingly an easy conquest, and with his soul trapped in another's body, he was no match for us."

"Excellent, my puppet."

"Look, you'd better let me go if you know what's good for 'ya", warned Cyborg as he struggled to free himself. "I mean it. I've got magic and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Then by all means, try me", challenged the Puppet King as he got in Cyborg's face.

"Grrrr, Azarath Metrion Zinthos", he shouts as Raven's aura prepares to surge from her body. Before it had a chance to explode as expected, the Puppet King simply stuck out his palm as he began absorbing Cyborg's aura attack until eventually his entire hand became cloaked in a black, flame-like aura. "Say what?"

"It's like I always tell you Titans, you're not in charge here, I am."

"How are you doing that?"

"Thanks to these ignorant humans, my spirit has been reborn. And while I waited for the opportunity to return to your world, I was banished into limbo, where I wandered the shadows for what feels like an eternity, giving me plenty of time to increase my strength, and plot my revenge."

"So what, you can steal souls and psychic energy?"

"Yes, but the truly fun part, is what I can do with it once I've stolen it", he continues just before snapping his fingers. In response, Robin's empty shell drops down from above (probably from a roof somewhere), and walks over to his master. He then holds up six wooden puppets (three in each hand). One puppet was a toddler-sized puppet that was dressed up like a king, and the other five were tiny puppets based off of the Teen Titans, including the Cyborg puppet I saw in Cyborg's room. "Excellent", says the Puppet King creepily as he takes the Robin, Beast Boy, and Raven puppets from Robin's shell. "Rise and shine", he continued as the Daemon Ritus on his chest opened up for a brief moment. In response, three ghostly white lights shot out of it at the three puppets, which then responded by coming to life.

"Aw, man", whined Beast Boy as his soul was now trapped in his respective puppet. "Why does this kinda stuff keep happening to me?"

 _That's Beast Boy alright_ , I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes.

"Let us out of here now", demanded Robin as he swung from his puppet strings.

"Now why would I do something like that? With you Titans like this, I can finally destroy you, and claim permanent possession of your bodies. Just as soon as the ritual is complete, anyway. Speaking of which", he begins as he hands the three puppets back to soul-less Robin, "it's time to collect my newest trophy", he continues as he turns his attention to Cyborg.

"Uh-oh", he mutters to himself. The Puppet King's Daemon Ritus then opens once again, and again, a black energy tentacle emerged from it and shoots at Cyborg with the intent of stealing his soul.

"Say, "goodbye"", chuckled the Puppet King as the tentacle pierced through Cyborg/Raven's body. It was then that something unexpected happened. "Something's wrong", said the Puppet King with a gasp upon something forcing the tentacle out of Cyborg. It was then that a small aura raven emerged from Raven's body and perched on its shoulder. It then squawked angrily at the Puppet King before returning inside Raven's body. "You", said the Puppet King angrily as he darted a glare at the three possessed puppets. He then stomps over and snatches up Raven's puppet from Robin's shell. "That is now three times your magic has interfered with my plans, and for that, you will pay. That I can assure you."

"You say that as if you're going to get away with this", retorted Raven.

"Are you perhaps suggesting that I won't? I have already succeeded in capturing your soul, as well as the souls of two of your friends. And that protective spell you left behind is merely a temporary shield. It is only a matter of time before I consume all of your souls in order to strengthen my own, and with you finally out of my way, I will have the entire city in the palm of my hand. First them, and then the rest of the world."

"Not if _he_ has anything to say about it", said Raven.

"Though I admit that your little wolf pup's powers took me by surprise, his strength pales in comparison to mine."

"Don't underestimate him, you fool. The Wolfman has more power in one claw than you or your excuse for a host has in their entire body. We both know that much."

"If your friend is so powerful, then why does he have yet to reveal himself. If he's so confident that he'll stop me, then why doesn't he come and face me?"

"Simple, he's a werewolf. He's both a natural-born hunter and killer. You haven't outsmarted him. You simply pissed him off. He won't give up. He'll just keeping coming back, over and over again. He will continue to hunt you down to the ends of the earth until the time is right. And then, you'll be sorry you ever crossed him." In response, the Puppet King lost his temper and threw Raven to the ground out of spite. Raven groaned in pain in response.

 _Raven_ , I growled upon seeing her being punished.

"Raven", shouted Robin.

"Get away from her, you creep", added Beast Boy.

"You heard them! Back off", added Cyborg as the Puppet King walked over and picked up Raven again, though this time he was choking her.

"Let him try", he warned as he pulled Raven up to his face. "Let him come and try to take me down. I will stomp him into the ground. I won't steal his soul. I'll simply beat him to a pulp, until he's on the verge of death. And just before he takes his last breath, I make him watch as I devour your soul and bash open his skull", he continues before he throws Raven to Robin's shell, who caught her in midair. "Then you will truly know who the killer is here", he continued with a chuckle. It was then that another of the Crimson Strings ran up to the crowd.

"Master, we've done it. Our takeover was a success."

"Excellent. And what of the resistance?"

"The cyborg is currently in our custody. And the monsters have been contained."

"Then come, my puppets", said the Puppet King as he opened up a shadow portal of his own, that it had a ghostly look to it. He then led his forces through the portal, on their way to Killer Moth's old underground base.

"Dammit", I exclaimed in irritation as I morphed back into Beast Boy's human form. I then kicked an empty soda can that someone left on the ground to blow off some steam. "Raven, Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and now they've gotten to Fixit, too." A part of me felt like morphing into the biggest animal I could think of and going on a rampage, but something caught my attention.

"Wolfman, we must remain calm", said Starfire as she trotted up to me.

"Shhhh!"

"But, Wolfman, I was merely—"

"Shhhh!"

"I must ask that you—",

"I said, "SHHHH"!"

"Oooooh! Why must you be so, so—"

"Seriously, Star, listen", I said as I pointed to my ears. "Don't you hear that?" It was then that Starfire finally quieted down enough to hear the metallic banging sound coming from across the street, somewhere inside the stadium. The sound was rather loud considering that it could be heard from a long distance, and I didn't even have to morph to hear it.

"What do you suppose that is", asked Starfire nervously.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out", I said just before making a break for the stadium.

"Wait for us, please", cried Starfire as she ran after me. Once inside the stadium, we followed the banging sound to another of its locker rooms. "The banging is much louder in this room", said Starfire as she muffled her ears with her paws. It was at that moment that the banging was replaced by a voice.

"Hello? Is anybody out there?" Starfire and I looked at one another hesitantly before responding.

"Uh, who's asking", I asked aloud.

"The name's Spike. And I could use a hand here", he replied as he banged on the locker he was trapped in yet again. Once we pinpointed which locker he was in, Starfire and I removed the bench that was blocking the door, and then ripped the door off, freeing the human inside.

He wore a blue and gray gym suit with a giant zipper in the center of his chest, a small skin-tight hat on top of his head, a matching pair of tennis shoes, and a jet pack on his back. He was a pretty muscular man, despite his large girth, and he was an inch taller than me/Starfire, the same height as Cyborg. Despite him being human, his skin was pale, to a point where it _almost_ looked gray. He also had a bandage on his left cheek.

"Beast Boy! Man, are you a sight for sore eyes", said Spike as he walked up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders as a "thank you". "Thank goodness you found me. And who might you be", he asks as he walks over to Starfire and offers his hand.

"I'm the Wolfman", I replied for her.

"Wha", asked Spike in confusion.

"It is very nice to see you again, Spike", said Starfire as she Changed back into my human form and shook Spike's hand.

"Hey, I know that voice. That's Starfire's voice."

"Correct. I am Starfire, though trapped in the body of our newest recruit, Wolfman, who is currently trapped inside Beast Boy's body", said Starfire as he pointed towards me.

"'Sup", I asked with a wave.

"Howdy. So uh, what's your story?"

"Trust me, there will be time for all of that later. Right now we need some answers, like what you were doing in that locker."

"Oh yeah, so I'm just down here minding my own business, when I noticed these creepy cats came around spouting some cryptic stuff about their master and stealing souls. Those lousy pricks, they jumped me and tried to use me."

"Use you how?"

"One of 'em had a Ouija board and infected me with this ghost or something like that. The next thing I know, they're all, "I need someone with toys", so they made me break Control Freak out of jail. After that they threw me in that locker. I was stuck in there for two days."

"So the Strings used you as the Puppet King's original host. He then grew bored and moved on to Control Freak. Knowing him, that's not that surprising", I said.

"But how were you able to make such a noise from inside your locked prison", asked Starfire.

"With this", said Spike as he lifted up one of his wrists, revealing a crude gauntlet-like device on it. "This device allowed me to dramatically amplify sound, and it looks like it worked."

"Yes, but how did you create such a device from inside?"

"I just took a few parts from my jetpack. And I'm always packin'", he continues as he opens up his gym suit like a trench coat, revealing pockets upon pockets full of nuts, bolts, and several miscellaneous tools.

"I must say, Spike, that's quite impressive", I said as I looked into the locker, truly taking in how small and cramped it is.

"Oh, hey. It's Cyborg, my man", said Spike in a cheerful voice. Assuming that it was Cyborg's empty shell he was referring to, I immediately morph into a lion and lunge at him. I then pinned him onto his back and snarled down at him.

"Careful, Wolfman", said Starfire as she levitated behind me. "That is our friend's body after all."

"Not quite", said the metal man, with a voice that didn't match.

"What the, Geoffrey", I asked as I morphed back into Beast Boy's human form.

"At your service, Sir. And might I say, you're looking rather different yourself, Sir."

"How exactly did you manage to possess Cyborg without the Puppet King knowing about it", I asked as I climbed off of Geoffrey and helped him up.

"Before he was captured, Master Cyborg managed to flee to the tower. There he uploaded me into a robotic doppelganger, sacrificing himself while his computer systems made the transfer."

"So, Cyborg made a clone of himself? Why?"

"Perhaps it was for the "in case" of an emergency, like the last time he was absent", suggested Starfire.

"Wait, he's done this before?"

"If what she says is true, Master, I would like to think that world domination by way of an evil spirit resurrected from beyond would most definitely qualify as an emergency."

"Okay, okay, fine. When this is over, I'll have Cyborg answer all of my robot-building questions. Right now, we have to save him and the others."

"Yes, but how", asked Starfire.

"I….I….I don't know", I said in defeat.

"So you guys don't have _any_ kind of plan", asked Spike.

"Of course we don't have a plan. Hell, we were lucky to have escaped the Puppet King in the first place. Thanks to that little stunt he pulled trying to capture our souls, a few of us wound up switching bodies. Starfire and I are the only ones left. She doesn't have enough experience to use the full extent of my powers, and without my shadow magic, Beast Boy's brute force won't amount to much against a soul-stealing ghost. The only edge we _might_ have are the three monkey wrenches in this room."

"Then who's the third", asked Spike.

"Huh?"

"You said you had three monkey wrenches. I'm assuming me and your AI buddy are two of them, so who's the third?"

"Oh, he is the nameless, green canine we befriended during our imprisonment onboard the Soto's ship", chimed Starfire. Upon hearing Starfire's explanation, Geoffrey turned to me for more details.

"It's a long story", I said.

"Well then, where is this canine", asked Spike. Looks of confusion washed over me and Starfire's face upon looking around the room and realizing that the dog was no longer with us.

"Where could he have gone", asked Starfire with a hint of worry.

"Relax", I said to her calmly, though a part of me did feel disappointed. "He had no obligation to fight our battles with us, so let's just hope he's safe and enjoying his freedom."

"Then we shall free our friends with just the four of us."

"Right", I replied with a nod. I then began pacing around the room for a moment to brainstorm. There were a lot of things to consider, and time was of the essence if we wanted to save the souls of our friends. After a few moments of silence, I snapped my fingers upon noticing something about the Puppet King's host. "Polinski", I muttered to myself.

"Master", asked Geoffrey.

"You got something, Kid", asked Spike.

"It's Control Freak. Why is he holding back?"

"How do you mean, Wolfman", asked Starfire.

"I mean he's Control Freak. He's known for taking his media obsessions _way_ too far. His little remote has access to any prop, weapon, and deus ex machina from every t.v. show and movie ever created, yet the only weapon he's used, aside from his customized blade, is the relic from the live-action "Scooby-Doo" movie?"

"Yeah, so", asked Spike. "What's significant about that movie?"

"I'll tell you what's significant about it, it sucked. The writing was garbage, the jokes were insultingly juvenile, the CGI could only be appreciated by five-year-olds, and the plot was so contrived that it even came with its very own Shyamalan plot twist. Again, Control Freak can use _any_ movie weapon he wants. He could use Iron Man's suit, Guts' buster sword, Indiana's whip, virtually anything he could think of, and yet he equipped himself with an obscure relic from a bad reboot movie from the early 2000s."

"I see", began Geoffrey, "so you're saying that it's possible that the Puppet King is not in complete control of his host, and more importantly, his host is in fact resisting him, or perhaps misleading him."

"Yeah, I mean I know if I wanted to steal people's souls, I would've just recruited an army of dementors", said Spike. The rest of us all looked at him for a moment in response to his comment. "What? I'm an HP fan."

"Moving right along", I began, "you following any of this Star?"

"Unfortunately, no. Though Beast Boy has familiarized me with the ironed suit, and the mystery-solving dane of greatness, I know nothing about the state of Indiana, or this broken sword that you speak of." A part of me felt genuinely bad for Starfire during this exchange. As an alien, she already struggled with English and cultural references, and my little movie babble did nothing to remedy that. "That said, I am hopeful that this realization you have just received has given you an attack plan."

"It has, so huddle up, Titans."

"Hold up, that includes me", asked Spike.

"You're a friend of Starfire's, you've given us helpful information, you're impressively skilled with tools, and truthfully we could use all the help we could get. As far as I'm concerned, you're a Titan, too. You in?"

"You got it, Boss."

"Okay, so here's what we're gonna do", I began as my three teammates gathered around for my battle plan. A few moments afterward, Spike broke away from the group to begin construction for his contribution to the plan. Starfire joined him to assist with some heavy lifting. "Geoffrey, a moment", I asked my robotic friend as I motioned behind me, further away from the others. The two of us wandered over to the far other end of the room out of earshot of our teammates.

"Yes, Master?"

"Any chance you're still connected to Fixit?"

"I was wondering when that would be brought up", said Geoffrey as his eyes began to glow blue.

"What're you doing?"

"When your cybernetic friend first contacted me several nights ago, he was able to access the tower's computer systems. From there, the two of us were able to connect our functions, allowing me access into his mind."

"So basically, in technological terms, the two of you have developed a psychic link with each other?"

"In layman's terms, that is correct."

"Can you tell me where he is?"

"Processing now. Fixit is being held underground, by several of what I assume are more of the Puppet King's minions."

"Can you identify which ones?"

"No, but I think it would be easier for you to investigate for yourself", said Geoffrey as he pointed to his head.

"But I can't. Even if your psychic-techno link allows me to read Fixit's mind through you, I can't utilize that link as long as I stay trapped in here", I said as I motioned towards the body I was currently occupying.

"True, however this robotic vessel I currently inhabit is equipped with various unique resources. For instance….", he began again as his glowing eyes began projecting an image on a nearby wall similar to that of a movie projector. The projection consisted of a first-person view of several Crimson Strings pacing back and forth in front of the "screen". The setting was recognizable, as it was in the living room where I had first met Kitten, and Mad Mod.

"What is this?"

"What you are witnessing is what we like to refer as sight-sharing."

"So this is what Fixit is seeing right now?"

"Correct."

"Make sure he doesn't move from this spot", said the Puppet King from off to the side.

"Forgive me, Sir, but I must insist that you release me at once", said Fixit calmly. "I vowed to my Master that I would protect his swarm during his absence, and—", he continued before being interrupted.

"Silence", said the Puppet King sternly, yet calmly due to his voice. " _I_ am your master now. You will now obey _me_. And I am ordering you to stay where you are, unless you plan to fail your appointed duty of protecting your insect friends", he continued as he used Control Freaks remote on the t.v. behind him. What appeared on the screen was an image of my swarm crammed into a cage, while being poked and prodded by more of the Strings. "Do you understand, my puppet?"

"Yes, Master. I understand", said Fixit with a bow.

"Excellent", said the Puppet King just before he struck Fixit. This in turn caused Geoffrey to wince in pain (which must've been an odd occurrence for him as this was the first time he had experienced pain) due to losing his connection.

"You okay, Buddy?"

"I am still fully functional, Sir."

"Good."

"Wolfman", called Starfire from around the corner as she began approaching us.

"Quick, Geoffrey", I whispered as I grabbed something from my pocket. "Take this."

"What is it, Sir?"

"It's one of Fixit's gadgets. He calls it a D-Tector. I managed to swipe it from my body during a scuffle I had with Starfire. Use it to contact Kendall", I said as I handed the purple device to him. "Give her our friends' coordinates, and tell her to stick to the shadows."

"Wolfman", called Starfire again just before rounding the corner. "There you are", she said finally as she rounded the corner. "I must say, I am growing fond of your keen sense of smell", she said as she pointed up to her/my nose. It was at that moment that I noticed that my tail had materialized behind her and began wagging. Upon noticing it herself, Starfire reached back behind her to try and grab it. When she missed, she reached for it again, and then again. This continued until eventually she found herself locked in a game of chase with my tail as she started walking in circles.

"Please stop that", I said as I put my hand on her shoulder.

"My apologies."

"What's the status on Spike's part of the plan?"

"He has gathered all that he requires. He says that he shall be at completion very soon."

"Close enough. Geoffrey, you stay here and see to it that Spike finishes as soon as possible", I said to my robotic friend as I turned to him. I also gave him a wink as a reminder of the secret orders I gave him about Kendall.

"As you wish, Sir", he said with a bow.

"As for us", I began as I turned back to Starfire, "all we gotta do is stall until they finish. Hopefully we may be able to free Cyborg before its too late. You think you're ready for this?"

"I am. If we do not fight for our friends, then who will?"

"Glad to hear it. Let's go", I said as I made a break for the exit. Starfire followed behind me.

"Good luck to you, my liege."

"Yeah, go get 'em, Titans", added Spike as we passed him. Once the two of us made it outside, Starfire cloaked herself in my aura while I morphed back into a Pteranodon. We then took to the sky and made our way to the southern forest, towards Killer Moth's old lair.


	28. There Are No Strings On Me

It didn't take us too long to make it back to the meadow in the southern forest. By this point, we could've flown there blindfolded. The problem, however, was that waiting for us there, in the middle of the meadow, were the Puppet King, his minions, our captured friends, and a "do-it-yourself"-looking sacrificial setup that looked like he was preparing for yet another ritual of some kind. Upon seeing this, I led Starfire downward into the brush surrounding the meadow before we were spotted. Once there, the two of us Changed back into our human forms (Starfire did so unintentionally) and began to converse.

"So what are we to do now", asked Starfire.

" _We_ do nothing. _You_ on the other hand, will act as a distraction", I said with a sigh. Upon discussing our plan back at the stadium, I intentionally left out the part about how we were going to distract the Puppet King's forces, because in order for my plan to work, I had to manipulate and exploit Starfire's emotions, which wasn't going to be fun for either of us.

"What do you mean?"

"Patience, Princess. Patience", I reassured her as we sat and waited. As we watched our enemies prepare for the ceremony, we noticed that in the center of the meadow was another large, demonic Orichalcos symbol surrounded by a circle of lit torches. Several yards away from the circle was a large, stone slab (which looked like they simply tore a chunk of earth from inside the caves). Boltted to the slab by his wrists was Cyborg, still trapped in Raven's body as he hung there as if he was waiting to be crucified. And finally, on the other side of the circle, approximately the same distance away as Cyborg was, was some kind of throne-like platform with three levels. The bottom level was empty as it allowed people to step onto it, the middle level contained the five Titan puppets, including the three currently possessed by our teammates, and at the final level at the top was the king puppet, with its creepy mouth hanging open as its face was looking in our direction.

"Soon, my puppets", began the Puppet King to himself as his mindless minions continued to prepare the meadow for the ceremony. "Soon my power will be limitless, and all those who oppose me shall fall at my feet." It was at that point that Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire's empty shells all walked over to him and dropped to one knee. "Ah, Titans", chuckled the Puppet King as he leaned down and caressed Starfire's shells' chin, urging it to rise to its feet.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing", asked a hysterical Robin as his puppet squirmed helplessly from the platform. Without answering his question, the Puppet King simply nods to Starfire's shell. It then walks away towards the stone slab where Cyborg hung.

"Whoa", exclaimed Cyborg once Starfire's shell arrived there as she proceeded to lift the entire slab over her head and walk it back over to the Puppet King, who stood in the center of the circle. Cyborg exclaimed again as the slab was slammed back onto the ground. In response to this, the Puppet King began eyeballing Cyborg up and down. "My eyes are up here", retorted Cyborg in a half-serious-half-sarcastic tone.

"Take your positions, my pets. No one is to interfere", said the Puppet King to his minions, once again ignoring the fact that our friends were talking to him.

"I know you can hear me", exclaimed a highly annoyed Robin.

"Silence, you fool! You are not to speak until you are spoken to!"

"Or else what", challenged Beast Boy. "You're already stealing our souls, what else can you do?" The Puppet King chuckles a moment before responding.

"You know, I originally planned to consume your souls once I've claimed all of your bodies", he began as he walked over to Cyborg. "However, I think it will be more amusing to feed all but one of you to my queen", he said creepily as he caressed Cyborg/Raven's chin. Needless to say that this was a _huge_ red flag for me, as it was obvious what the Puppet King intended to do.

Rather than consume their souls like he planned to do with all of the innocent civilians he attacked recently, he planned on feeding them to Raven's empty shell, also implying that she would be the one to be spared of being consumed. It was also implied, due to the way he kept touching and looking at Cyborg, that he planned on keeping Raven trapped in her puppet for eternity while he claimed her body as his own personal play thing. The Puppet King didn't even care that her body was currently being occupied by a dude, making his already creepy threats even creepier.

"That is quite enough", began Starfire as she tried to barrel past me towards the Puppet King. It took every ounce of my being to block her with my arm, as I was _very_ much tempted to let her bash his face in, but the time wasn't right, so I was forced to wait.

"Before we begin", began the Puppet King as he reached for Cyborg again. He then rips off Raven's cloak, giving him a complete look at her body in its skintight leotard. "Much better."

"I feel violated", complained Cyborg.

"Imagine how I feel right now", chimed Raven.

"Silence, Fools", exclaimed the Puppet King. "The time has come", he continues as his/Control Freak's body becomes encased in a ghostly aura. He then goes on to chant his demonic mantra again as his Daemon Ritus unleashed another black energy tentacle. "Peta, neru, mairen seshian. Peta, neru, mairen seshian. Peta, neru, mairen seshian. Peta, neru, mairen seshian", he chanted repeatedly as the tentacle clashed with the aura raven guarding Raven's body.

"We must act now", exclaimed an anxious Starfire as she tried to bulldoze through me.

"No, not yet", I attempted to reassure her. I could tell the time was drawing near as a small gust of wind blew in our direction, sending small hints of Raven's scent towards me and Starfire. A few seconds later she argued again.

"But we must, Cyborg needs our help."

"Just a little more", I responded as I began looking around nervously. _Where is she_ , I exclaimed to myself in my head. _She needs to be here for my plan to work!_ My thoughts were interrupted upon hearing the aura raven give out a final squawk before disappearing. The Puppet King had succeeded in overpowering it.

"Wolfman", said an irritated Starfire as my werewolf growl escaped through her jaws. As I had hoped, she was getting angry.

"Almost there", I said just before I heard the sound of a quiet giggling, telling me that Kendall had finally showed up. "Now", I exclaimed as I morphed into Beast Boy's werewolf form and tackled Starfire onto her back. I then proceeded to punch the sides of her face over and over again as I had her pinned underneath me. _Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up_ , I thought to myself as I desperately tried to push Starfire to her breaking point. I continued my assault on Starfire until finally she got angry enough to where she snarled at me as her brown eyes turned yellow due to her beginning to Change. _There you are_ , I thought to myself as I then grabbed her by the throat and began spinning her around. _Now break, a, leg_ , I continued as I hurled her into the air towards the center of the meadow with a Hail Mary throw. The Puppet King had just almost succeeded in claiming Cyborg's soul when Starfire came crashing down in the middle of the two of them.

"What's this", asked the Puppet King aloud as he looked upon the seemingly unconscious werewolf as she laid limp in front of him. Before he could think too far into what he had just witnessed, the werewolf slowly rose onto her paws with her back turned to her ghostly opponent. Once she had recovered, she turns towards him with an angry snarl as her yellow eyes burned with an intense rage. "Ah, so you've finally decided to face me, have you? Now you will know the true meaning of—", he continued before Starfire interrupted him with an angry roar as she lunged at him. Having been caught off-guard, the Puppet King just barely manages to jump out of the way. However, because of how close she was to him, upon her initial attack failing, Starfire then goes on to grab the Puppet King by Control Freak's leg, only to give him what I like to call the "Loki Treatment". If you were to ever ask me what I meant by that, I would tell you to pretend that the Puppet King was the Marvel trickster of Asgard, Loki, and that the raging Starfire was the Incredible Hulk. The rest speaks for itself. The other Titans didn't even so much as hesitate to comment on the beating the Puppet King received.

"Duuuuuuuude", exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Way to go, Wolfman", said Robin.

"Beat the souls right out of him", added Cyborg. It was at that point that I noticed that Raven was surprisingly quiet, almost as if she seemed confused as to what she was watching. Before I could think too far into it, the Puppet King spoke again once he was able to recover.

"Foolish mutt, you will pay for your arrogance", said a now pissed off Puppet King as he whipped out Control Freak's Key Saber (that's what I've decided to call it now) and charged at Starfire. Starfire responded by instinctively cloaking her claws with my aura and charging right back at him with another roar. The two of them then go on to engage one another in an epic rage-induced slash fight. My plan was working perfectly.

As I have told many people in the past, usually to other mutants I've helped to train, there is arguably nothing more violent, scary, or dangerous in comparison to a mutant who cannot control their powers, _especially_ animagi, _especially_ carnivorous animagi, and _super especially_ werewolves. That being said, there are several things that can trigger a werewolf's instincts and send them into an extremely primal rage, and thanks to our dear friend the Puppet King, Starfire was surrounded by lots of them. Thanks to him, Starfire was now in the presence of a ghost, a half-demon, a witch, multiple humans, and another werewolf, all while battling in the center of a demonic ritualistic circle. All I had to do was piss her off enough, and her animalistic instincts would do the rest. With the Puppet King now distracted, I decided to make my move as I morphed into a field mouse and raced towards the ramp leading underground, which was currently wide open. The stealthiness of my approach was even more effective when you took into account that Beast Boy's green fur made the perfect camouflage. Once I made it safely to the ramp, I then morphed again, this time into a common housefly.

" _Holy shit"_ , I said to myself aloud, not that anyone around me could understand me. I was shocked by how drastically my eyesight had improved simply by becoming a fly. My spider form alone improved my usually perfect werewolf vision by 400%. That said, my now fly vision was twice that. _"Whoa! Fuck the Shadow Zone, I can literally see everything at the same time!"_ My juvenile jubilation came to a halt upon catching a glimpse of one of the Strings walking by the end of the hall/tunnel. _"Oh yeah. Gotta stay focused"_ , I said to myself as I flew ahead as fast as I could go, carefully flying as high above everyone as possible to avoid being swatted at.

As I flew deeper into the underground lair, I passed through the living room where they were holding Fixit captive, which only encouraged me to pick up my speed even more. I eventually made my way into Fixit's workshop, which is what I started calling the room where Fixit first brought Terra's earthquakes to my attention.

" _Looks like the coast is clear"_ , I said to myself from the ceiling of the workshop upon noticing that the room was completely empty. When I felt it was safe to do so, I dropped from the ceiling in Beast Boy's human form and began exploring the workshop. "Come on, come on, come on, where is it", I asked myself anxiously as scoured through a great many files on Fixit's computer system. "Aha", I continued when I found a folder filled with blueprints. "No, no, no, no", I chanted over and over as I scrolled through the blueprints. "Base defenses, base maintenance, bot repairs, Spell Field…. wait a sec. What's a spell field", I asked myself as I happened upon an accidental blueprint that caught my attention. I then took a moment to read the description. ""Based on D-Tector technology, the Spell Field is designed to create a temporary environment meant to aid spellcasters in combat through the use of synthetic aura generators". Dually noted", I began as I made a mental bookmark of that handy tidbit, "but where the Hell is that chip", I continued as I abandoned my search and typed into a search engine. Upon doing so, I finally found the information I needed. "There we go, the Tri-Borg Mach 2", I said as I pulled up blueprints for a computer chip that Fixit had been developing. "Sweet! It looks like it's ready, too."

"For Master", hollered somebody from behind me. As I began to turn around, my instincts (which fortunately weren't at all altered due to me being trapped in Beast Boy's body) began to slow everything down again, revealing to me that my assailant was not only one of the Crimson Strings, but that he was also armed with an axe, one of those huge one-sided ones that were used for decapitations I medieval times. Seeing as how he was preparing to swing it at me, especially since my current body was rather shrimpfish in comparison to my other one, my first instinct was to merely jump out of the way. However, that was going to leave Fixit's computer system at the mercy of my assailant's axe, which was obviously something I couldn't afford, so I was instead forced to take a more direct approach.

"No you don't", I retorted as I quickly rushed at him and grabbed ahold of his axe before he had the chance to swing it. This of course led the two of us into a power struggle in which we each tried to either yank the axe out of the other's grip, or push the other over. Usually this wouldn't be too difficult as this guy was an everyday human, and I was a 6'1 werewolf. However, Beast Boy's werewolf strength was underdeveloped in comparison to mine, meaning he had to completely morph in order to utilize it. This was also in addition to the fact that Beast Boy was a dwarf in comparison to the 6'2 String drone at a height of merely 5'7. Upon realizing that I couldn't outmuscle him, I decided to attempt a variation of a death roll. First, similar to how I positioned Robin during our scuffle at City Hall, I urged the String to position himself to where if he were to swing his axe, it would be away from any nearby computers or machines. After that, I then pulled back as hard as I could while simultaneously dropping to the floor. As I fell, which caused my opponent to stumble forward a bit, I kicked out my legs at his feet, causing him to trip over me. Finally, I used our momentum to position myself on top of him once we finished rolling over each other, pinning him onto his back as I placed the axe over his throat.

"No one shall interfere with Master", groaned the nameless drone. "All hail the Puppet King", he continued before I knocked him unconscious with my gorilla fist.

"Yeah right", I muttered to myself as I climbed off of my unconscious opponent and returned to the blueprints. I then typed in a command code, and in response, a small compartment popped out of the bottom of the computer, revealing a small, green computer chip. "Bingo", I said to myself as I took the chip and put it in my pocket. It was at this point that I noticed some movement on the surveillance screens of the computer. Upon realizing this, I noticed that the Crimson Strings were all headed towards the exit, and they were bringing the prisoners with them as I saw Fixit being escorted from the living room, while Lola and the rest of the swarm, still in their cage, was being carted behind them. "Looks like they're going topside. Or should I say, _we_ are going topside", I said as I looked back towards the unconscious drone on the floor. I then stripped him of his cloak and axe and ran out of Fixit's workshop to catch up with the others.

Fortunately for my sake, none of the other drones noticed me assimilating amongst the crowd as we all made our way up the ramp towards the meadow, nor did they ever question whether or not I was one of them. My disguise was apparently foolproof. All I had to do was look ahead, make as little movement as possible, and walk very, very slowly, and they couldn't tell me apart from anyone else. After all the Crimson Strings had congregated towards the center of the meadow, we all began to form a large circle around the Puppet King and the stage he had set for his revival ritual. The unfortunate part was, the reason we were all able to form a neat and tidy circle around the area, was because the Puppet King was apparently successful at apprehending Starfire, despite her animalistic instincts beating the shit out of him moments ago.

Starfire was now lying on her stomach, on what appeared to be a medical stretcher with arms, which were being used to restrain her. To a common onlooker, this might just seem like a randomly silly device that the Puppet King built. However, since I knew that the Puppet King's host was Control Freak, and because I myself was a bit of a nerd myself, I knew better. It was perfectly clear to me that the Puppet King/Control Freak had been window shopping through the world of television again, because the armed stretcher, was actually one of several silly devices and robots built by Team Rocket from Pokemon, known as the Stretcher Catcher. She also had a black, metallic collar around her neck, which prevented her from using my powers, and therefore kept her trapped in my wolf form.

"I'm afraid your little game is over", gloated the Puppet King as he towered over Starfire. "It seems you are not the all-powerful sorcerer your little friends make you out to be", he continues before striking her across the face, causing her to gasp. "What's this", he asks to himself before striking her again, again causing her to gasp. Robin caught on immediately as he was the first one to recognize Starfire's voice.

"Starfire", he hollered.

"What", asked a now irritated Puppet King. "Where is he", he continues as her grabs Starfire by my face and forces her to look up at him.

"I don't know", she answers honestly.

"You have given me the wrong answer", said the Puppet King as he releases her and stands back up. He then draws his weapon and slices it along the length of my left arm. This naturally got her to howl in pain.

"Stop it", hollered Robin. "Leave her alone!"

"I will not", said the Puppet King calmly, though still angrily. "For deceiving her king, she will suffer my wrath in place of the wolf, while I destroy his body. Prepare yourself, my dear", he said as he lifted his blade over his head with the intention of decapitating her.

"You'll pay for this", shouted Raven, grabbing the Puppet King's attention.

"Is that so, my queen? Perhaps I should discipline you as well", continued the Puppet King as the Daemon Ritus opened up again, unleashing two black tentacles, the first of which pierced through the back of my body. The second tentacle, as if it had a mind of its own, snaked its way towards the Puppet King as if it intended to stand next to him, as if it were an attack dog waiting for its master to give it a command.

"Stop this now", pleaded Fixit.

"Silence, Slave", retorted the Puppet King as he used Control Freak's remote on him. In response to this, Fixit sort of goes into a robotic sleep mode, similar to how Cyborg was when Gizmo attacked him. Lola and the others squirmed in their cage in response with angry hisses. "I cannot allow this rogue werewolf to interfere with my plans, nor can I allow my queen to behave in such a manner. They will both be disciplined, and what better way to do so, than for my queen to accept his punishment in his body", continued the Puppet King as he now planned to have Raven's soul possess my body so that he could punish her through me. It was at this point where I couldn't restrain myself anymore. In response to the Puppet King's threat, I utilized Beast Boy's abilities and morphed my human legs into kangaroo legs, and my human arms into gorilla arms. I then leapt high into the air, and plummeted back down onto the Puppet King, with the axe I wielded preparing to bisect him. In response to my surprise attack, the Puppet King broke his connection to the aura tentacles and dove out of the way just as my axe slammed onto the ground. I then positioned myself to where Starfire was behind me and the Puppet King was directly in front of me.

"Leave, them, alone", I warned with a growl from under the hood of the cloak I was borrowing.

"You dare raise your weapon to me", asked the Puppet King. "You, my lowly servant, dare raise your hand to your king?"

"I am not your servant, and you are not my king."

"You dare contradict me?"

"A true king wins over his followers with honor and heart, not through force and the underhanded tactics of a poacher. A true king respects his allies and followers, because he understands that without them, he is nothing. A true king doesn't take or demand his queen's heart, he earns it. You are no king to me. You are not a king in this life, you were not a king in your previous life, and you will never be a king in any other life", I said angrily as I lifted the axe up with one hand and pointed it at him.

"I have no time for your foolishness. You are of no significance to me."

"Oh really? From what I've heard, you've been itching for a rematch since that little stunt you pulled back in the tunnels."

"Is that….", began Robin.

"No way", added Beast Boy.

"It's about time", added Cyborg.

"Who are you that you question my rule? Who are you that you challenge me in my domain? Who are you to tell me that I am not a king?" Before I answered him, I slammed the axe back into the ground, so that my hands would be free for my grand reveal.

"I am one the defenders of Jump City. I am the leader of the most powerful mutants to ever walk the earth. I am the physical embodiment of the elemental force from which draw power. I am….", I began as I ripped off the cloak and threw it to the side, "…. the Wolfman, Prince of Darkness, and you will pay for the evil acts you committed against my friends."

"Told you so", teased Raven to the Puppet King.

"Impossible, you should be powerless against me. Your soul is trapped in another's body, your dark powers have failed you, the powers you currently possess are not your own, and you stand alone. How is it you are able to be so confident even though you are in no position to be", asked the Puppet King as he looked me over, still with kangaroo and gorilla limbs. Clearly this was the first time he'd seen Beast Boy's powers being utilized in such a manner, which to his credit was an unexpected development, as not even Beast Boy himself seemed to know how to do so.

"What do I have to be worried about? I don't need magic to kick your ass, and I've been changing into animals since before I could walk. The only thing you did was give me more animal forms to play with. Though I will admit, everyone and everything seems a lot bigger in this thing."

"Hey! I'm not _that_ short", retorted Beast Boy defensively.

"Well then, Wolfman, tell me how big my army appears to you", chuckled the Puppet King as the Crimson Strings began closing in on me like zombies. In response to this, I picked up the axe again, which got them to halt in place.

"Your little drones don't scare me. My fight is with you, not them."

"And what if I were to decide against your little challenge", challenged the Puppet King, implying that he was going to let his drones fight me instead. This was something I could not allow, for multiple reasons.

The first and obvious reason was because of the fact that his drones consisted of the bodies of those whose souls had been taken. They were not in control of their bodies, and it was just as Robin said, they were going to want them back when this was all over. The other reason I didn't want to fight his drones was because it was going to take time, attention, and energy that I couldn't afford to waste on them.

Despite my cocky monologue, I still stood by what I had said earlier, Beast Boy's brute force alone would not win this battle for me. That said, the plan was for Starfire and I to distract the Puppet King (she through weakening him with her dark powers, and me through freeing as many prisoners as possible) until Spike and Geoffrey arrived with their secret weapon. Once they did, we would all surround and immobilize the Puppet King, with some help from Kendall's magic, and use the weapon to free all the souls that had been captured. However, Starfire failed to weaken the Puppet King, and I failed to free any of the prisoners. So, with Starfire now captured, and the secret weapon having not yet arrived, I now had to do my very best to stall for time, by taking on the Puppet King myself. I wasn't expecting to win, but I sure as Hell was going to try.

"Then I say we even the odds a bit", I retorted with a growl as I lifted the axe over my head. I then turned around towards Cyborg and chucked the axe at him like a giant tomahawk. Despite Cyborg's nervous yelling, I was aiming at the stone slab he was bolted to, which was reduced to rubble due to the force of my throw.

"Seize them", ordered the Puppet King. In response, the Strings broke into a sprint as they ambushed us.

"Hold on, Star", I said to Starfire as I grabbed the front of the Stretcher Catcher.

"With what", she asked both sarcastically and worried. She then shrieked as I swung the stretcher around in a large sweep, striking away all of the strings unfortunate enough to be close to us.

"Wolfman", hollered the Puppet King as he lunged at me with his Key Saber while my back was turned to him. In response to this, I placed the stretched back on the ground and kicked it towards Cyborg, which caused Starfire to shriek again as it rolled away. Though I did manage to dodge the Puppet King's attack in time, because of how close to me his swing was, a few strands of Beast Boy's hair fell in front of my eyes as they were sliced off. When the Puppet King swings his weapon at me again, I then change my left arm into a lobster claw and block his attack with it. With the Puppet King now temporarily stunned, I use my remaining gorilla fist and send him flying backwards with a swift punch in the abdomen. "Enough tricks! Come forth and face me like a man!"

"I would, except I'm not a man", I said with a growl as I made a few changes to Beast Boy's body. In addition to the kangaroo legs, the gorilla right arm, and the lobster left arm, I also added a crocodile tail, stegosaurus spikes on the tail, platypus ankle spurs, a great white shark fin, grizzly bear claws at the ends of my gorilla fingers, Texas long horn horns, wolf jaws, warthog tusks, a rhino horn, and my long serpent tongue. "I'm an animal", I continued before letting out a lion's roar.

"Whoa, since when can I do that", asked a half-weirded out-half-impressed Beast Boy. The Puppet King and I then rushed towards each other, thus beginning our rematch.

I began by leaping high into the air again with the intent of stomping on top of him. Just as he did before, the Puppet King dove out of the way. The Puppet King then throws his weapon at me, forcing me to shield my face with my lobster claw. Just as the blade had finished bouncing off of my claw, the Puppet King rushes at me with his shoulder leaning inward, and barrels into me, knocking the wind out of me in the process. As he continued to drive me backward, I fought back by wrapping my arms around him and kicking my right knee into his abdomen. Though my attack seemed to be working, as it stopped the Puppet King in his tracks, he countered by grabbing my knee and yanking it to the side, causing me to fall onto my back. I winced immediately as I landed on top of my shark fin. The pain was made even worse when the Puppet King stomped on my throat, causing me to grab at his foot in an attempt to pry it off.

"Honestly, Wolfman, is this the best that you can do? I expected more from you", gloated the Puppet King as his stomped on one of my ankle spurs with his other foot, breaking it in the process. I roared in pain in response. "Swear your allegiance to me, and maybe I will spare your friends."

"Never", I growled at him. I then shot out my tongue and wrapped it around his left fist. I then yanked it towards me as hard as I could, causing him to tumble forward. While he was still airborne, I lifted up the lower half of Beast Boy's body and double-kicked him square in the torso, sending him flying backwards yet again. Fortunately, this allowed me to rise onto my feet, though with a limp due to my broken ankle spur. _Un_ fortunately, I had apparently kicked him back towards his weapon, as it was now in his hand upon recovering. "Ah, shit", I said to myself as I used my kangaroo feet to launch myself at him, my lobster claw poised in front of me like a sword as I did so. Once I was close enough to him, the two of us partook in yet another slash fight as his blade clashed with my claw. Eventually, we found ourselves in a power struggle as we pushed into each other.

"For a wolf, you seem to fail at listening", said the Puppet King before pushing me away from him and slicing off one of the horns on my head. Once again, I roared in response to the pain. "Now surrender", grunted the Puppet King.

"Apparently, you don't listen too well either", I retorted. The Puppet King, in a frustrated fit of rage, responded by lifting his Key Saber above his head and bringing it down on me. I responded to his obvious little outburst by catching the blade with my lobster claw.

"What", asked a shocked Puppet King. I then tracted the bear claws on my other hand and scratched his wrist, which combined with the grip I had on my lobster claw, caused him to lose his grip on his weapon, allowing me to throw it away from him with my serpent tongue. "No!" Before he had a chance to break away, I used my now free lobster claw to deliver a karate chop to his forehead, discombobulating him in the process and he was now too stunned to react. I took the opportunity to fight back by grabbing at his throat with my gorilla hand, swinging him around, and hurling him straight up into the air. While he was airborne, I leaped into the air once again. As I rose into the air, at a higher height than the airborne Puppet King, I did a brief somersault as I delivered my finishing blow.

"Tail Hammer", I growled as my crocodile-stegosaurus hybrid tail swatted the Puppet King out of the air and towards the ground, engulfing him in a cloud of dust upon impact. After landing on my feet, my ankle injury caused me to fall forward and rest on my gorilla hand, panting as I struggled to catch my breath.

"Duuuuude! I rock", exclaimed an excited Beast Boy.

"Way to go, Wolfman", added Robin.

"Hold on", began Raven. "Look there." It was at this point the Puppet King rose to his feet as the dust around him began to clear.

"Here we go again", I said to myself as I lunged at him.

"Enough", he shouted as his eyes began to glow white. Immediately afterward, a ghostly white aura fired out of his eyes at me. Upon making contact with it, I dropped to my knees and grabbed at my head as I roared in pain. The pain was so intense that I morphed back into Beast Boy's human form.

"The pain! Make it stop! Make it stop", I hollered. Though I initially refused to beg or submit to anyone as a rule, the pain inflicted by the Puppet King's magic was more than I could bear, and that was saying a lot. Over the years as an Elemental, I've been shot, electrocuted, stabbed, sliced, burnt, crushed, run over, blasted, chocked, punched, kicked, trampled, and frozen solid, but none of that compared to whatever it was the Puppet King did. Without exaggeration, it literally felt like my brain was going to explode inside of my head, and as an Elemental whose powers were typically linked to my brain, I can honestly say that it was the worst pain I had ever felt at that point.

"So, only now do you beg for mercy", taunted the Puppet King as he walked over and kicked me, forcing me onto my back. While I was there, I got an upside down view of Starfire and Cyborg as they struggled to keep the Crimson Strings at bay. For Starfire, it was due to being weakened by the Puppet King. As for Cyborg, he unfortunately wasn't as lucky as Starfire and I, so he was still struggling to find a system that worked when using Raven's powers.

"No", I groaned weakly upon seeing them being overpowered. I screamed in pain again as the Puppet King grabbed my attention with his weird aura-eye attack. With no energy or strength to try to roll away, I cringed and pulsed on the ground as the torture continued.

"How the mighty have fallen", taunted the Puppet King as he sent a pulse through his aura stream, causing me to temporarily scream louder.

"Wolfman", cried Raven, Robin, and Beast Boy.

"Yes, my dear children", began the Puppet King as he used the aura being fired at me to lift me above the ground, putting me on full display to the others. "You will all watch as I savor this moment. You will all watch as I end the life of this worthless, disobedient mutt. You will all watch as I banish this poor fool's soul to roam the Earth for eternity. He will have all the time in the world to think about how he failed to protect his friends, as the very world as he knows it crumbles around him", he said before sending another aura pulse into my brain. My screaming was made even louder because of it.

"Please stop", cried Raven. "I'll do whatever you want! Just please, let him go!"

"Wishful thinking, my dear. However, I'm afraid you're a bit too late. Any last words, Wolfman", asked the Puppet King. In a moment of desperation, I managed to cease screaming long enough to unleash one, loud-as-Hell howl. I howled for as long and hard as I could, causing my eyesight to become blurrier and blurrier, as I feared that I had met my end. "It's over, Wolfman", said the Puppet King as he used his aura to force me to look at him. "The world is mine to command!"

"Fuck, you", I groaned weakly with what I thought was going to be my final breath. Once again angered by my attitude, the Puppet King opened his mouth as wide as he could, as his ghostly white aura prepared to fire out of it as well. It was then that, out of seemingly nowhere, the Puppet King was attacked. From behind his back, through the tree-line of the meadow, came what appeared to be a small, blast of blue energy, shockingly similar to one of Cyborg's cannon blasts. It wasn't as powerful as Cyborg's blasts, but it was enough to break the Puppet King's concentration as his connection broke, causing me to fall to the ground.

"What was that", asked an annoyed Puppet King. "Who did that", he continued as he turned towards the tree-line. While lying on my stomach, I also looked towards the trees to see what it was that attacked my opponent. Due to the aura attack, my vision was so blurry that I could barely see the Puppet King, who was merely a couple of feet away from me, let alone the mystery attacker from several yards away. "Come on out and fight", demanded the now impatient Puppet King. The attacker responded by firing another energy blast at the Puppet King. This one was powerful enough to send him flying backwards. I could then here the sound of a large machine/vehicle crashing through the trees and into the meadow as it rushed at the Puppet King as I collapsed from exhaustion, though I did not blackout.

Rather than fall unconscious like I would usually do, I struggled to stay awake as my eyesight continued to fail me, as well as my hearing as the sounds of everyone's voices around me sounded muffled. I was so weak and groggy that I didn't even realize that I was being dragged away until another voice spoke directly to me.

"Kid! Kid, are you okay", asked the voice as I could feel something hitting the side of my face. This continued on for a bit until I became conscious enough to realize what was going on. The voice that dragged me away was Spike, and it was his hand slapping the side of my face in an attempt to wake me up. "Come on, Kid! Wake up! Wolfman!"

"Ugh, Spike", I groaned upon my vision finally returning. "What happened? Where's Cy and Starfire?"

"That depends, is Cyborg stuck in Raven's body?"

"Yeah."

"Then they're over there warding off the cloaks", said Spike as he motioned his head over to my friends, still engaged in battle.

"And Geoffrey?" Upon asking my question, I heard a loud crashing sound coming from behind Spike. The Puppet King was engaged in a fight with what appeared to be a crawling tower crane (though only a fraction of its average size), except instead of a cable and hook, the crane was instead equipped with a metal orb at the end of it, that fired electricity. "Awesome", I said with a chuckle upon observing the bizarre sparring match between a chubby redhead and a two-story tall machine.

"Hold it, Boss. Maybe you oughtta rest for now", suggested Spike when he noticed me trying to stand up.

"There's no time", I grunted as I managed to rise to my hands and knees. After taking a moment to gasp for air, I reached into my pocket. "Here, take this", I continued as I handed him the computer chip. "Guard it with your life. And when the time comes, return it back to me."

"Then why give it to me?"

"Stop questioning me and listen. We have to move quickly if we want to save the others."

"Alright, what do you need, Boss?"

"Unless we can finish off the drones, we are hopelessly outnumbered and distracted, so what I need you to do is even the playing field", I said as I pointed to the unconscious Fixit off to the side of the battlefield. "The Puppet King did something to him. Get him back online, he'll take care of the rest."

"Leave it to me", said Spike as he dashed away on his jet pack towards Fixit. Upon seeing him dash away, I caught a glimpse at the nearby cage that was harboring my swarm. The moths, particularly Lola, had looks of confusion on their faces, as if they recognized my voice despite me being in another's body.

"I'll save you guys", I said to them as I shot up and tried running to assist Fixit. My attempt ended up failing as my legs gave in, causing me to fall onto my face. Beast Boy's body had apparently been rendered so weak that simply standing up was proving to be difficult, let alone running.

"Wolfman", yelled Raven from off to the side in response to me collapsing.

"I won't quit on you, Raven", I muttered to myself as I started to crawl on my stomach. "Not now, not ever", I continued to myself as I continued forward. I paused for a brief moment upon seeing the crane, which was currently harboring Geoffrey, capsize on its size upon the Puppet King delivering an airborne kick to it (between the unestablished ghost powers of the Puppet King, and my knowledge of his host, I stopped questioning the defiance of logic at this point). "Geoffrey", I hollered, worried that he had been damaged. Upon seeing Geoffrey fall over, I begin having flashes of the last time Geoffrey fell into disrepair, which also caused me to think of my mother. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh", I roared in rage as I mustered up enough strength to morph once again.

"What's this", asked a shocked Puppet King upon seeing me transform into a two-story tall, two-legged, carnivorous, prehistoric lizard.

" _Surprise, Bitch! I'm back"_ , I roared at him. _Well sort of_ , I thought to myself upon remembering the unfortunate fact that I was currently borrowing Beast Boy's tyranno form as opposed to utilizing my own.

"So, you've abandoned your chimera strategy, have you? I, the mighty Puppet King, have just taken down a machine of your size with my bare hands. What makes you think your little dinosaur test drive will fare any better than your mechanical friend did", he asks before leapt towards my face with his blade out in front of him. The typical response would be to open my jaws and snap at him. However, what the Puppet King didn't realize was that I was just as much a dinosaur as I was a werewolf, so I had several years of combat experience in this form just as I had with my default wolf form. Instead of open my jaws and snap at him, I bared my teeth and used them as a crude shield to block his attack. Once I did, I hit him downward with my chin, forcing him to crash into the ground. I then stomped on the ground next to him as hard as I could, causing him to shoot back up into the air a bit. And then finally, I swung my tail and swatted him backwards several yards.

 _This isn't a test drive, you fool_ , I thought to myself with a growl as I watched the Puppet King tumble along the ground. I then charged at him with a loud roar, shaking the ground with each step I took. Once I was close enough, I chomped at him as he lied on the ground, but he managed to roll out of the way as I bit into a mouthful of dirt. Upon my attack missing, the Puppet King then tried to swing his blade at me yet again, but failed once again as I caught it in my teeth. Upon noticing that he refused to let go of his blade, I lifted my head up and began swinging him around. I was about to hurl him straight into the air as I did last time, but was interrupted.

"Enough", shouted the Puppet King as his body once again became encased in his ghostly white aura. "Fist of the Puppet King", he continued as an aura projectile fired from his fist. Just before it collided with my face, the aura projectile took the form of the face of the king puppet from earlier, which I guessed was his true form. Upon the projectile hitting me square in the face, I lose my balance and fall onto my side.

" _Copy cat"_ , I groaned to myself in response to the Puppet King imitating my battle gimmick.

"Ah, I think you may be on to something, Wolfman", chuckled the Puppet King as he walked over to me. "Attack names make the concept of inflicting pain so much more fun. In fact, let us try it again. Fist of the Puppet King", he continued calmly as he repeated his attack, except from an even closer range. The resulting blast caused me to crash onto my stomach several feet away from him in Beast Boy's human form. "How does it feel, Wolfman", asked the Puppet King as he continued to taunt me as he walked over to me. "How does it feel to be knocked ten steps backward each time you feel you've taken one step forward?"

"Speaking of "ten steps backward"—", I began as I looked up and noticed where the Puppet King was positioned. He was merely a few feet away from where I needed him to be. Upon realizing that, I mustered up enough strength for one last attack as I morphed into a bull and charged at the Puppet King. After driving him backwards a few feet, the Puppet King fought back by driving his elbow into the back of my neck. Normally, an attack such as that wouldn't faze a bull, but due to my weakened state, the attack was enough to force me back into human form again as I once again fell onto my stomach.

"When will you learn", asked the Puppet King as he grabbed me by the back of Beast Boy's uniform and threw me backwards. After landing on my back, I slowly managed to sit myself up and face my opponent. "When will you learn that you can never outmuscle me. You can knock me around all you like, but I'm afraid it'll never wear me down", gloated the Puppet King as he pointed his weapon at me. As I sat there listening to him, I noticed where he was standing, as well as what was going on behind him. Upon noticing, I couldn't help but throw my head back and laugh.

"You still think that I'm trying to beat you with brute force", I chuckled at him. "You haven't a clue, do you?"

"Pardon?"

"Not only did I think you could kick my ass while in Beast Boy's body, but I planned that you would."

"What do you mean? Explain yourself", demanded the Puppet King.

"What I mean is, I'm not what you should be concerned about. I'm merely bait, and you fell for it", I said in reference to the fact that the Puppet King was now standing directly in the center of his Satanic circle.

"What?"

"Flight Pattern Lock-Down, now", I commanded. In response to my command, Lola lets out an angry shriek as she leads the swarm into an aerial assault against the Puppet King. One by one, the five mutated moths flew past the Puppet King, similar to how they did when I first met them. And just like how I did on that faithful day, the Puppet King fell victim to their trap as he stood in place trying to swing at the moths, completely oblivious to the fact that they were merely stalling.

"You'll much more than these abominations to contain me", hollered an annoyed Puppet King as he continued to swing and miss at the moths.

"Good, because I've got more for 'ya. Fixit, activate Spell Field!"

"What", gasped the Puppet King.

"Spell Field now activating", said Fixit from off to the side as he began to glow red (apparently I was correct in assuming that he would be able to keep the Crimson Strings at bay upon being freed). In response, the earth shook a bit as several lightning rod-like receptors shot out of the ground around the perimeter of the entire meadow. Once they arrived, the tops of them began to glow a pinkish-purple color, creating energy waves that were sent towards the center of the meadow, causing the Satanic circle to glow. In response to the Spell Field's energy waves, the Puppet King dropped to one knee and screamed.

"No! I will not allow this", hollered the Puppet King as he lifted his blade and prepared to fight back.

"Firing Lightning Generator", said Geoffrey as he rushed forward and zapped the Puppet King with a constant bolt of electricity, immobilizing him further as he dropped to both knees.

"Keep up the pressure", said Cyborg as he, Starfire, and Spike all formed a crude circle around the Puppet King and fired at him as well. Cyborg had apparently learned how to finally utilize Raven's dark powers (probably with the assistance of Starfire), and Spike was shooting at the Puppet King with what appeared to be two proton pistols, which explained what the small, blue energy blasts from before were. With my friends now successfully immobilizing the Puppet King, there was only one thing left to do. I let out a howl, signaling Kendall to take action. In response, four white lights appeared on the ground in the illustration on an eyeball, Kendall's trademark. One appeared under me, one appeared under Starfire, one appeared under Cyborg, and the last one appeared within the circle under the Puppet King.

"Starfire", I hollered to my friend, grabbing her attention. "Listen very closely and repeat after me! Use the powers of the Elemental of Darkness! Say, "Atlantis Auroros Motom"!"

"At once", replied Starfire before repeating my spell. "Atlantis Auroros Motom!" In response to her words, my aura began radiating from her body.

"You know what to do, Cyborg", I said to my other teammate.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", he hollered as Raven's aura began radiating from his body.

"Nooooooooo", hollered the Puppet King as the magical energies of Kendall, Raven, and myself began affecting him.

"It's over, Puppet King", I said to him. "You lose!"

"NEVER", he hollered once more before sending out a shockwave with his ghostly aura. This resulted in creating a white light, which caused us to be thrown backwards as if the Puppet King had exploded. In response, I temporarily blacked out.

"God, I hate blackouts", I groaned as I slowly sat myself up. "Oh, my head", I whined as I placed my hand on the top of my head. "Wait a sec", I said upon realizing what I was touching. "A scruffy, mini afro", I asked aloud before observing my hands, and the dark skin that covered them. "Alright! It worked!"

"Not quite", said the Puppet King in a drastically altered voice, grabbing my attention. This was where our battle took a weird turn. In the live-action Scooby-Doo movie, the Shyamalan-style plot twist was that the evil mastermind behind the entire film was Scrappy-Doo, and the Daemon Ritus he used to steal souls wound up turning him into what was supposed to be a giant, more intimidating Scrappy. That said, Control Freak's body was at this point, also a giant Soto-sized monster, even to the point where, like Scrappy from the movie, looked and sounded strikingly like Pumbaa from "The Lion King". "This is _far_ from over", he continues before pushing a button on one of Control Freak's wrists, as he was wearing some kind of an alternate remote-like device on his wrist like a gauntlet (again, with Control Freak, you learn not to ask questions). In response to the button being pushed, a large white hole opened up in the sky and created a white flash. Once the flash had passed, the Puppet King found himself standing a few yards with a fictional army consisting of a fleet of Mantis-droids from "Red vs. Blue" and/or "Halo", a swarm of "Killer Needle"s from "Yu-Gi-Oh!", that mechanical bull monster thing from "Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters", and the serpent tree dragon from "Maleficent". Also joining them was soulless Robin, as well as the now empty shells of both Raven and Beast Boy.

"Okay, seriously, what the fuck", I asked in disbelief. Even though it was typical behavior of Control Freak, it was still ridiculously trippy having to shatter the laws of fiction and reality every single time I got into a fight with him. In response to my outburst, the tree dragon rushed forward at me and roared as I remained seated underneath it. I was a little too much in awe to move, as the movie the dragon was pulled from was easily in my Top 5 List of Favorite movies of all time. Fortunately for me, my focus was brought back upon the dragon being blasted in the face by both a proton blast and a barrage of star bolts, allowing me to escape a few yards away from it towards the opposing team, which consisted of Cyborg, Starfire (both now back in their real bodies as well), Fixit, Lola, Nightmare, Grinder, Killer, Jiant, Geoffrey, and Spike.

"Wolfman, status report", said Cyborg as we all squared off with our enemies.

"We are outnumbered by a lot, hilariously outgunned, three members of our team are still missing their souls, and until we can get the Puppet King out of Control Freak's head, we are all royally screwed.

"I am saddened to say this, but I perhaps am beginning to miss the Control Freak", added Starfire. In response to Starfire's comment, Puppet King was temporarily replaced with an outburst from the _real_ Control Freak.

"Ha! Hear that, Robin? She misses _me_! In your face", exclaimed Control Freak.

"Silence, you fool", retorted the Puppet King as he struggled to retain control over his host.

"Sir, it is as you suggested", began Geoffrey to me. "The Puppet King does not appear to have _complete_ control over his host."

"I see", I replied as I watched the bizarre sight of the Control Freak essentially having an argument with himself. _Hmmmm, I wonder if I can overtax it_ , I thought to myself before having an outburst of my own. "Hey, Lexi! The Puppet King may be a puppet, but it looks like _you're_ the dummy", I taunted. As expected, Control Freak did not appreciate my comment in the least.

"MY NAME IS NOT LEXI! I AM CONTROL FREAK! OTHERS DO NOT COMMAND ME! I COMMAND THEM!"

"Get out of my head", argued the Puppet King.

"This is _my_ head, you miserable pile of termite bait", retorted Control Freak. As I watched the two of the battle for control, I noticed that the Puppet King's hold on his host was growing weaker and weaker, though he still lacked the strength to break free.

"Whatever is going on in that head of yours, I want in", said Cyborg noticing that I was getting an idea.

"It's a bit of a gamble, but if it works, I might be able to force the Puppet King out of his mind."

"What do you require", asked Starfire.

"Chaos. Lots and lots of Chaos. Cyborg, where's—", I began before getting interrupted by one of the Mantis drones.

"Hostile forces detected", it said in a menacing, mechanical voice as it took a step forward. "Targets locked", it continued as it prepared to fire.

"Uh-oh", muttered Cyborg.

"Firing main—", began the drone before being interrupted as it got barfed on by a slimy projectile from off to our right. In response, we all turned to see the green alien dog from before rushing towards the fictional army, viciously barking all the way.

"Firing main cannons", repeated several other drones simultaneously as they all turned and began spreading a barrage of bullets at the dog.

"Look out", cried a worried Starfire. Much to our surprise, the dog merely zigzagged straight into the assault, continuing its path towards us as it continued to push forward.

"The mutt moves fast", commented Spike upon being as impressed with the canine's speed as we were. Once the dog was close enough, he shot out his tongue and wrapped it around one of the arms of one of the Mantis drones. He then swung from it in a large, wide circle, causing the selected drone to crash into multiple other drones, before releasing himself into the air. We were all about to cheer as the green canine began being dragged down by gravity, but he was then attacked yet again. As the airborne dog began to fall back to the ground, one of the "Killer Needle"s charged at him with its stinger poised for attack.

"Block it, Nightmare", I commanded, sending the red moth into action. With some lightning-fast speed on his part, Nightmare managed to rush at the giant insect, and intercept the attack by biting down on its stinger. Despite that however, it wound up being all for naught, as the mechanical bull intercepted the falling dog by headbutting him before hitting the ground. The poor canine let out a canine whine upon being struck as it was thrown onto his side at my feet. "Oh no, are you okay", I asked the dog as I picked him up in my arms and shook him slightly in an attempt to wake him up.

"What was he thinking rushing at them like that", asked Cyborg.

"Uh, Guys", said Spike as he pointed forward, drawing our attention back to the matter at hand. Upon us returning our focus, we noticed the tree dragon towering over us again, preparing to attack. Once again, the dragon was interrupted by another surprise guest.

"You hurt Doggy", hollered a familiar voice from off to our right as the ground began to shake as if a herd of elephants were stampeding into the meadow. We all then turned back to our right to see the large alien charging at the dragon. "SOTO PUNISH", hollered Soto as he rushed at the dragon and punched it square in the face, knocking it onto his side. In response, the drones and "Killer Needle"s all swarmed and surrounded Soto and the now unconscious dragon the laid beside him. "You make Soto angry! Soto smash you", he hollered again as he grabbed the dragon by its tail and began using it as a weapon as he flailed it at his enemies.

"I have no idea where that rock guy came from, but I am not complaining", said Spike, who I guess had never met Soto before.

"Right-o, then, it worked", said the dog cheerfully as he woke up and jumped out of my arms and onto his four paws.

"What the", I said shocked that the dog was now conscious and full of energy.

"What? Do dogs not play dead on your planet", asked the green dog with a chuckle.

"Did that not hurt you", asked Starfire.

"Of course it was painful. But you needed the extra muscle, and it was the only way I could get Soto to get involved. Now are we to do battle or not?" I couldn't help but smile at the dog. He had never ditched us. All this time he was luring Soto to us so that he could assist us.

"Right, first thing's first", I said as I looked back up at Soto, who was becoming more and more annoyed with the "Killer Needle"s.

"Soto not like you! You go now", he hollered at them.

"Lola, you stay here", I said to my Beta. "The rest of you, seek and destroy", I said as I pointed at the opposing insects. An epic sky war between giant bees and giant moths then ensued upon hearing my command as the four male moths rushed at their opponents with angry hisses. "Cyborg, what happened to that collar that was around my neck?"

"I don't know. I threw it away somewhere."

"Is it still in the meadow?"

"I didn't throw it very far, so I guess it should be."

"Find it, T-Bone", I said down to the dog.

"Who? Me", asked the slightly confused dog.

"What? Did I stutter?" The dog's tail began wagging in response to my question, as he was now happy to have finally been given a name.

"Not at all", he replied.

"Good, then fetch", I said as I pointed somewhere behind me. Without any further questions, T-Bone took off in search of the collar. "Go with him, Fixit. Once he finds it, I'll need you to get it back online."

"As you say", said Fixit with a bow before taking off after T-Bone.

"Starfire, see if a few rounds of star bolts will help drive the Puppet King out. And Cyborg, you take care of the drones."

"Say what? How am I supposed to take on a fleet space marine military robots?"

"Spike", I asked the mechanic. In response, Spike pulled the chip out of his pocket and tossed it to Cyborg. "That should help. Happy Birthday."

"Splendid, it is complete", said Starfire gleefully in response to Cyborg receiving the birthday gift we all pitched in to help get for him.

"Well alright then", said Cyborg with a grin as the mechanical side of his head flipped open, revealing a series of slots. He then inserts the chip into one of the slots and closes the side of his head. His blue circuitry and red, robotic eye then give off a brief flash as he begins morphing one of his arms into a cannon, but with a twist. This cannon had two fork-like receptors at the end of the barrel, and a scope on top to help aim. "Boo-yah", hollered Cyborg as he fired his new weapon at one of the drones. Instead of the usual stream of blue energy, the cannon fired a single orb of light green energy (to the point where it looked almost identical to a star bolt), causing the drone to explode instantly upon making contact.

"Whoa-ho", chuckled Spike. "Looks like Cyborg upgraded to a plasma cannon."

"And check out what else I can do", said Cyborg as his body prepared to show off more upgrades. His other arm became cloaked in electricity as it began sparking. It then also turned into a cannon and fired four metal grappling claws, each attached to a thick, metal wire. The four claws then attached themselves to another drone, just before electricity was sent through the wires. "Nice. I've been trying to perfect my taser cables for months."

"Satisfied", I asked.

"You better believe it", said Cyborg as four wheels appeared on the bottoms of his feet. Four tiny hatches then opened up on the backs of his shoulder blades and calves to act as exhaust ports.

"And what do you require of us", asked Geoffrey. Just before I could answer his question, the empty shells of the other Titans all stepped forward, preparing for battle.

"It'll be a three-on-three sparring match", I said to Geoffrey, Lola, and Spike. "Draw their fire, and try not to rough up their bodies too much. Any questions?"

"Nope", said Spike.

"At the ready, Sir", added Geoffrey. Lola also chimed in with an eager hiss.

"Shall we proceed, Wolfman", asked Starfire.

"After you, Cyborg", I said to the metal Titan.

"Alright, then", he began. "Teen Titans, go", he shouted as the power source that his body runs on began firing out of his exhaust ports (simulating tiny, blue flames) and helped propel him forward, ultimately giving him a rocket boost as he skated towards the opposing army. The others all followed his lead as Starfire flew towards Control Freak and proceeded to attack, while Lola, Spike, and Geoffrey turned their attention to the shells of our teammates. With everybody occupied, I snuck away to the Shadow Zone as I opened a portal beneath my feet and sank into it. Once there, I snuck underneath all of the fighting over towards Starfire and Control Freak.

 _Wolfman, wait_ , interjected Kendall to me telepathically.

 _What is it, Kendall?_

 _I know what you are up to._

 _Then you should also know that there's no point in trying to talk me out of it._

 _But a Spirit Call is too dangerous. You'll never be able to control such powerful magic without severe consequences._

"If it saves Raven's soul from an eternity of slavery, I don't care", I said aloud with a roar before leaping out of the Shadow Zone. Once I did, I used my aura to levitate in midair above Control Freak, still arguing with the Puppet King while simultaneously enduring abuse from Starfire, while I began to meditate. As I did so, I began chanting out a Spirit Call, the same spell the Puppet King used to sacrifice his followers. "Peta, neru, mairen seshian. Peta, neru, mairen seshian", I repeated over and over and over again, hoping that my gamble would pay off.

There were a few reasons why a Spirit Call was a dangerous gamble to use. The first reason was because it had a huge strain on both the mind and body, making it a difficult spell to cast for even the most experienced of magicians. Another reason was because it was one of the seven spells deemed so powerful by my master, that he made me swear to him that I would avoid casting them at any cost. And finally, and ultimately the most important reason, was because of how a spirit call operated. What I was basically doing was calling upon any and all nearby spirits in the area that happened to be trapped in the physical world, and asking them to bond with me and lend me their power. That wouldn't be such a bad thing, if it weren't for the fact that there was no filter to keep evil spirits from bonding with me, meaning, that I was risking being possessed and corrupted by an evil spirit just as the Control Freak was. As I continued to verbally chant my mantra, I was mentally begging for assistance from anyone willing to help.

 _Please, I beg of you. If anyone is out there, I desperately need your help. Alone, my magic is futile, but together, we may be able to defeat this evil ghost, and free these innocent souls. In the name of the Elementals, I call upon thee._ As I continued to plea and cry for help (I think I was secretly hoping to receive assistance from the woman in the white cloak), one spirit finally responded with a sinister chuckle. He neither greeted me, introduced himself, or mentioned his motives. He simply entered my mind and temporarily took over, casting a spell of his own as I noticed he seemed to have a sort of European accent of some kind.

 _Necronom Hezberek Mortix_ , said the voice in my head. In response to his spell, I began screaming in pain once more as my aura poured out of my eyes, just as the Puppet King did. In addition, upon being showered in my aura, both the Puppet King, and Control Freak began screaming in pain as well as they both dropped to their knees. My attack was so intense that it felt as though my very life force was being sucked out of my body for every ounce of my aura being poured from my eyes. While that was going on, the Puppet King was getting his just desserts alongside Control Freak as it was now their minds at risk of exploding inside Polinski's head.

"Wolfman, that is too much", hollered Starfire over the screaming. "You must stop!"

"I, can't", I groaned through the pain.

"But he will surely die if you do not!"

"But, I, can't", I replied.

"You must", she repeated as she flew up to me and grabbed at one of my arms. "Stop this now, Wolfman!" It was at this point I could feel my aura spiking as it began rushing up my throat.

"Help me", I hollered desperately just before I began gagging as if I was in the process of vomiting, permanently. As that was going on, my aura continued to erupt as it was now pouring out of my open mouth as well. In response, the Puppet King and Control Freak's screams got a whole lot louder as they began thrashing around on the ground. It was then then I could hear my heartbeat beginning to die as it began beating slower, and quieter. _No, this can't be_ , I thought to myself as I had grown so weak at this point that I could no longer feel the pain anymore. It was if my body had accepted its fate, and was preparing to die.

"Starfire, look out", hollered Cyborg from off to the side. The last thing I remember before blacking out for about the millionth time was Starfire releasing me, Cyborg shooting me out of the air with a plasma blast, and crashing onto the ground.

As I lied unconscious, my head began flashing a series of eerie and menacing images. Images of demons, bloodshed, fire, stone statues, feathers, eyeballs, a dragon, a blizzard, skulls, and death swam through my head over and over again, while the sounds of innocent people screaming accompanied them. Over the screaming, the voice of the European spirit spoke to me again.

 _Under moonlight, one shall be dead. The Beast of Shadow, or the Dragon of Dread._ In response to the spirit's words, I began sensing the presence of the cloaked woman as the horrific images began to be consumed by a blinding, white light. The last sound I remember hearing, before the light brought the nightmare to an end, was the angry sound of an elephant trumpeting. After that, I found myself beginning to awaken, kind of.

I was fully conscious at this point, as feeling began returning to my body, reminding me that I was lying on my back, but I couldn't move. I couldn't wiggle my toes, I couldn't twitch my nose, I couldn't flex my fingers, I couldn't even open my eyes. My body was completely frozen, as I feared that I might have rendered my body catatonic. The only thing that kept me from screaming in an internal panic, was the comforting sounds of my friends through the darkness of the backs of my eyelids.

"Is he okay", asked Starfire.

"He's alive", replied Raven as she began encasing my body in her healing, white aura. I could feel her hands on the sides of my face.

"But he is not moving."

"True, but his brain activity is rather high", replied Fixit.

"Perhaps he is merely resting", suggested T-Bone. "You cannot blame him for that."

"I second that", began Spike. " _I'm_ tired, and I barely did a thing."

"Master Wolf's last attack took a rather large, traumatic toll. I'm detecting signs of cellular injury due to low blood perfusion", said Fixit.

"Uh, can you say that again, but in English", asked Beast Boy.

"He's in a state of shock, Beast Boy", translated Raven. "He just needs some time to recover."

"Then I know just the thing", said Beast Boy.

"You know how to awaken the Wolfman", asked Starfire.

"Sure I do. I saw it in a movie once", he replied. The next thing I know, life is scared back into my body as I "wake up" to a green sasquatch roaring in my face. As I clutch at my jump-started heart, struggling to catch my breath after being horribly startled, Beast Boy lets out a loud-as-Hell victory roar upon his plan to wake me up succeeding.

"He lives", cheered a relieved Starfire as she looked down at me.

"Told you I could wake him up", gloated Beast Boy as he also looked down at me.

"You okay, Kid", asked Spike. Without answering, I began trying to sit up.

"Easy", said Raven as she assisted me with her hands on my shoulders. I took a moment to grin back at her before speaking.

"Did we win", I asked with a groan. "What happened? What happened to the Puppet King?"

"The Soto happened", said Starfire as she pointed up at the sky. As she did so, Soto's ship came into view as it slowly cruised over the meadow. It was then that the bottom of the ship opened up, revealing a see-through window floor. Through the window, I saw Soto waving "goodbye" to us with one hand, while the king puppet from earlier squirmed in his opposite arm, wearing the black collar around its neck.

"Is that—", I started to ask upon seeing Soto's newest hostage.

"It sure is", said T-Bone as he and the others waved "goodbye" back to Soto, basically spelling out for me what happened after I passed out. My last attack was apparently a success as the Puppet King was now forced out of Control Freak's head, which forced him to retreat to the king puppet, which now acted as his body. Once that happened, Fixit then trapped him in that body with the collar, as he must've been successful in repairing it. "It was a trade of sorts", continued T-Bone, implying that the Puppet King was traded to Soto in exchange for his freedom.

"Seems fair", I chuckled as I also began waving to Soto. The ship's bottom then closes up, concealing the window. Seconds later, it dashes away into the sky with hypersonic speed, breaking the sound barrier as it exited Earth's atmosphere.

"And don't come back", hollered Beast Boy, who seemed to be the _most_ relieved that Soto was gone. I chuckled at his enthusiasm a bit before speaking again.

"Now that that's over with, where are the others?"

"He's waking up", said Cyborg from behind us. We all turned to see him, Robin, Geoffrey (back in the body of Cyborg's robot clone), and the moths all hovered around Control Freak as he lied on his back, now also starting to wake up. "Rise and shine, Buttercup." Upon waking up to the sight of the Teen Titans, Control Freak responded by jumping to his feet, stepping away from them, and striking a kung-fu-style battle pose upon realizing his was missing both his remote, and his blade.

"What are you nimrobs doing here?"

"That's the "thanks" we get for saving your sorry butt", Cyborg began to ask as he pointed at him, "not that you deserved it." It was at this point I opened another portal to the Shadow Zone and sank into it.

"Who asked to be saved", asked an ungrateful Control Freak in response.

"You haven't changed a bit", I said to him as I rose up out of the Shadow Zone behind him in my beast form. "Gratitude was never your best feature."

"You", growled a now furious Control Freak as he pointed at me dramatically. The very sight of my beast form made his blood boil.

"Long time, no see, Polinski. How long has it been? Six years? Who knew you ended up in California of all places?"

"You have a lot of nerve using that form in front of me."

"It's nice to see you, too", I retorted sarcastically.

"Piss off, you traitor."

"Takes one to know one", I retorted.

"I would rather burn in Hell than be saved by you."

"If it were up to me, I would've trapped the Puppet King in your body and give you both to Soto. My moral obligation as a Titan is the _only_ reason why you're even here right now, so believe me, the feeling is mutual."

"I promised that you would pay for the way you betrayed me. And you _will_ bow to me", he hollered as he pointed at me again. I chuckled again before responding, as it was hilariously ridiculous that he was demanding me to bow after the Puppet King had just spent several hours trying to get me to do the same thing.

"Sorry, but the ground here is kinda dirty, Lexi", I taunted smugly. The mentioning of the embarrassing nickname I gave him only made him angrier.

"Then you will bow in pieces", hollered Control Freak as he began rushing at me with a clenched fist.

 _I don't think so_ , I thought to myself as I lifted my right paw and pointed it at him. "Shadow Pulse", I shouted briefly as I fired a small shockwave out of my paw. Upon making contact, the attack threw Control Freak back onto his back, rendering him unconscious once again. "It'll be a _cold_ day in Hell before I bow to the likes of you", I said aloud as I Changed back into my human form.


	29. The Bigger Picture

With the reign of the Puppet King finally over, and everyone's souls back in their rightful bodies, there wasn't much left to do but clean up and try to salvage as much of Cyborg's birthday as we could before the day came to an end. Spike stayed behind with Fixit, and the swarm in the underground lair, while T-Bone returned to the Tower to take up residence with the rest of us.

"Just so we're clear, I'm _not_ housebreaking him", said Raven aloud as the seven of us all walked into the Ops Room.

"Won't be necessary", said T-Bone as he began rubbing up against her leg. In response to seeing this, I got a tad jealous as the hairs on the back of my neck shot up, and a growl threatened to rumble in my chest.

"And if you glomp or lick me again, I'll send you to another dimension", continued Raven.

"Dually noted", said T-Bone slightly nervously as he backed away from her and retreated to hide behind Starfire's legs. I let out a tiny sigh of relief upon witnessing their exchange.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah", began Cyborg as he wrapped his arms around Raven, and Robin, "are we having a party or what?"

"Might as well", said Robin upon freeing himself from Cyborg's grip. "We could all use a little more relaxation after what happened today."

"Shall we proceed to Part 3", asked Starfire.

"I thought the chip was Part 3. Don't you mean, "Part _2_ ", asked Beast Boy.

"What're you guys talking about", asked a confused Cyborg.

"The Birthed Day of our friend, Cyborg, of course", replied a cheery Starfire.

"Part 1 was supposed to be a relaxing day at the beach, until it got interrupted", explained Robin.

"Yeah, and Part 3 was supposed to be that computer chip that Fixit made. But thanks to Wolfman, you were given it early", continued Beast Boy.

"Um, you're welcome, by the way", I retorted in response as it seemed that Beast Boy was implying I ruined our plans for Cyborg's birthday, even though giving him the computer chip when I did is ultimately how we were able to defeat the Puppet King and escape with our lives. In response to my quip, Raven chuckled a bit.

"Okay, then what was Part 2", asked a now curious Cyborg. In response to his question, Robin simply walked over to the Ops Room's security panel on the wall and punched in a familiar command. In response, the room shook a little as machinery began to shift and move under the floor. Usually, this happened whenever we switched to the bigger table, or the DDR Dance Pad. However, this time to new items rose up from out of the floor. One was a new refrigerator, one that was both newer, shinier, and slightly bigger than the one we currently had in the kitchen. The other item was a giant bowl, made out of (I kid you not) chocolate, one that was big enough to act as a small water bowl for a t-rex. "Uhhhhhh…..", began Cyborg, who was speechless upon witnessing what came out of the floor.

"All credit for this one goes to Starfire", said Robin.

"The crafting process was especially delicious", chuckled Starfire, revealing that she was the one who made the bowl.

"How did you guys even get this in here?"

"You'd be surprised what two mutant magicians can do with thirty minutes to kill and Beast Boy acting as a distraction", said Raven with a grin as she stepped forward and faced Cyborg with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, what she said", I added after teleporting to her side, and leaned against her with my arms crossed. Without another word, Raven then sticks out and offers me one of her hands. I responded by giving her a "low-five".

"Yeah, yeah, you two are great", began Cyborg impatiently, "what's going in the bowl?"

"Should we show him, Robin", asked Raven. We all looked back at Robin upon hearing her question, who simply responded with a nod. Raven then turns her attention to the new ice box we had presented. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos", she said calmly as its doors opened, revealing that it was filled with literally nothing but 100-pounds-worth of ice cream.

"Boo-", began an excited Cyborg before being interrupted by Beast Boy.

"Hold it, Dude", he said as he leapt onto his back and covered his mouth. With Cyborg now stunned, Raven then went on to use her powers to lift all of the ice cream tubs out of the ice box. She then grabs the chocolate bowl and places it on the kitchen counter. The ice cream tubs followed it as they all then proceeded to float and hover above the bowl. "Alright, G, cue the music", continued Beast Boy as Raven's powers popped off all the lids to the still airborne tubs.

"I believe that's your cue, Sir", said Geoffrey to me, now back to inhabiting Killer Moth's old drone as he floated past me. As he prepared to begin playing the music, I prepared for my performance by using my powers to take control of the five bottles of chocolate syrup we had in the other ice box. I then opened up the bottles and had them float up to join the open tubs of ice cream above the bowl. I then positioned my hands as if I was about to conduct an orchestra, as Geoffrey began to play the music for my lyric rewrite.

As the music played, Raven and I began construction of an ice cream tower. While I used my powers to form the scoops and drizzle the tower with syrup, Raven used hers to hold the tower in place. As for what music we were building to, Geoffrey was playing the instrumental version of "Bibbity Bobbity Boo", while I sang my own twist to the song, compliments of the late Whitney Houston.

Folla De Rolla

Fiddle Dee Deela

Fiddlety Foddlety Foodle

Mix 'em together,

And what've 'ya got?

Fiddlety Foddlety Foodle

Folla De Rolla

Fiddle Dee Deela

Fiddlety Foddlety Foodle

Some magical words,

Believe it or not

Fiddlety Foddlety Foodle

Now, "Folla De Rolla" means

"A Feedle-A-Roodle-Roodle",

But the thing-a-ma-jig

That does the trick,

Is Fiddlety Foddlety Foodle

Oh,

Folla De Rolla

Fiddle Dee Deela

Fiddlety Foddlety Foodle

Mix 'em together,

And what've 'ya got?

Fiddlety Foddlety

Fiddlety Foddlety

Fiddlety Foddlety Foodle

When my song was over, standing on the kitchen counter was a comically large tower of ice cream that was about five feet tall. Cyborg was in shock upon witnessing its construction.

"Okay, Cyborg, go for it", said Beast Boy as he removed his hand from Cyborg's mouth and jumped off of him.

"BOO-YAH", hollered Cyborg just before he wrapped his arms around Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy and lifted them up.

"Choking, not breathing", groaned Beast Boy as he and the others struggled in his grasp.

"Y'all are the best", said a grateful Cyborg as his human eye began to tear up. "I don't know how I'm ever gonna thank you all."

"I have an idea", said Raven grabbing his attention. "How about you hurry up and eat this thing before we tire out", she asked sarcastically as she and I continued to hold the tower together with our psychic powers. As the entire structure was made out of ice cream, it was obviously too unstable to stand on its own. Without another word, Cyborg drops his friends on the floor and barrels towards the ice cream tower. Now I would like to say that Cyborg, while excited for receiving his edible gift, grabbed a seat, and a spoon, and shoveled it into his mouth like a somewhat normal person, that of course isn't what happened. Cyborg, without any hesitation or regret, simply ran and tackled the tower, taking the bowl with him as he crashed onto the floor. This resulted in ice cream splattering all over the room and raining down on the rest of us, as he continued to slurp, and lick ice cream off of the floor.

"Ah! Not again", I yelped in a panic as I Changed into my wolf form and bolted out of range of the raining strawberry ice cream. Raven and Robin were also lucky enough to dodge the messy explosion. Starfire, and Beast Boy however, not so much as they became drenched in melting ice cream from head to toe. Fortunately, this didn't bother them that much as Beast Boy the morphed into a cat and began to lick himself, and Starfire fell to the floor and began to laugh uncontrollably as T-Bone, and Silkie (now having joined us), tackled her and proceeded to give her and double-tongue bath.

"I'll go grab the mop", said Raven as he made her way down the hall towards the bathrooms.

"You're cleaning the Ops Room", asked Robin.

"I never said that", she replied before disappearing around the corner. Robin and I chuckled in response.

"And what about you", asked Robin to me.

"I haven't got any plans for tonight."

"I'm afraid you may have spoken too soon, Sir", said Geoffrey as he floated up to us. As he did, we noticed that there was something on his screen. They were a bunch of lines drawn with spirals at the ends of them, like the way little kids do when they draw the tails of monkeys. The lines began from the top right corner, and then stretched to the bottom left corner in a downward diagonal. The lines then began to spiral, some went left while others went right. The lines were also green and began to flash.

"What's that", asked a now curious Robin.

"Looks like a stalk of broccoli", suggested Beast Boy, temporarily stopping his tongue bath to morph back to his human form to contribute to the conversation.

"But why does the hybrid vegetable flash", asked Starfire, also joining in. Despite the others' confusion, I knew exactly what was on Geoffrey's screen. It was an Elemental Symbol, more specifically Andre's Symbol. Just as our ancestors signified the element of darkness with my Symbol, a crescent moon, they also had a Symbol to signify the element of wind. The spirals were supposed to represent a gust of wind being blown, the green color was to match Andre's aura, and the flashing was a summoning. I was being summoned by my Beta for a council meeting. Of course, I couldn't let the others in on that, so I quickly came up with a lie.

"Don't know what the weird doodle is for, but there seems to be trouble with the swarm."

"How do you know", asked Robin, who rightfully wanted an explanation for the randomness of the blinking, green light.

"If you recall, all the moths in my swarm are color-coded. Back when Killer Moth was running the show, he had Fixit set up a notification system in case one of the moths ever got out of hand. Green is Lola's color, so seems like something is going on with her."

"So, Killer Moth signifies trouble with a picture of broccoli", asked Beast Boy.

 _Don't let Andre hear you say that_ , I thought to myself. There were a few things about Andre's heritage and mutation that he was either extremely proud, or extremely self-conscious about, and the fact that his Symbol supposedly looked like a piece of broccoli (which to be fair, it kinda does), was one of them.

"It doesn't matter what it looks like. If there's trouble, we should look into it", said Robin.

"Nah, don't worry about it", I began in a desperate attempt to convince Robin not to follow me. "If it were Nightmare, or Giant, maybe I'd be a bit concerned. Lola's probably just in a mood. It's been a while since I've visited my swarm, and she can be a bit of a handful when she has one of her fits."

"You sure", asked Robin.

"Positive. I'll just pick up a few squirrels on the way over as a snack. After that we'll run some training drills to blow some steam, and she'll be fine."

"Well, okay then. I should probably update my logs on the Puppet King, and Control Freak anyway", said Robin as he headed to his room. "Beast Boy, make sure the Ops Room is cleaned tonight", he continued as Raven returned to us, handing Beast Boy a mop and bucket as she did so.

"Why do I have to do it? The ice cream tower was _Starfire's_ idea."

"True, but _you_ skipped out on dishes this morning", retorted Robin with a grin before disappearing around the corner. Beast Boy groaned in response.

"Besides, I must tell my K'norfka, of our adventures of today", added Starfire as she flew to her room.

"Have fun", said Raven as she walked by Beast Boy into the Ops Room. She then took a seat and went back to her knitting project.

"Again, what she said", I said with a chuckle to Beast Boy as I sank into a shadow portal under my feet. I emerged from the shadows above the tower in my armored form. I made a call to Geoffrey as I hovered in midair. "How are we coming along, G?"

"The witch, and banshee are being contacted now. What about Red X? Any sign of him?"

"Not yet, Sir."

"Well try again. If he still doesn't respond, then we'll advance without him. After you've made your calls, make your way to my room. You know what to do from there", I said to him as I began to fly away from the tower.

"Will do, Sir", replied Geoffrey as I began to make my way over to the valley. Once there, I dove into yet another shadow portal, emerging from the shadows once again upon reaching Fixit's laboratory. Fixit was busy at work setting up the conference chat, which was going to be shown using one of the screens that Killer Moth used with Professor Chang.

"Welcome back, Boss", said Spike as he greeted me with a handshake. At this point, I didn't question Spike calling me, "Boss" considering I couldn't get Fixit to stop calling me, "Master", so I just went with it.

"Ready whenever you are, Master", said Fixit as he looked back at me. Upon hearing him say that, Spike and I stepped forward to join him at the screen.

"Then proceed", I replied. In response, Fixit began to glow red once again as the large screen kicked on, revealing a four-way split screen, with the top half of the screen already occupied by two people. Occupying the top left panel was my second in command, Andre, the one who called the meeting. The top right panel was occupied by Yea Seul, filling in for Taiyo, my third in command. "What's up, Guys?"

"You tell us", began Andre. "Yea Seul's brain had a meltdown, is everything okay?"

"What does that have to do with you, Boss", asked a confused Spike, who rightfully didn't understand the relevance of Yea Seul's headache.

"Boss", asked Andre. "Fernando, who are these two', he continued in reference to the two humans that stood beside me during what was supposed to be a private meeting.

"If I may, Sir", began Geoffrey, now joining us as his voice echoed in the room, "now might be a good time to include your two guests."

"Still no sign of the third?"

"Afraid not, Sir."

"Oh well. Patch them through." In response to my command, the other two panels at the bottom of the screen kicked on as two people occupied them. "Andre, Yea Seul, allow me to introduce everyone. These are Fixit, and Spike. They are both master mechanics who've sworn their allegiance to both the Elementals, and the Teen Titans", I began as I motioned to the two humans.

"What's up", asked Spike.

"Greetings", added Fixit.

"Also joining us is Doctor Lector Von Goat, a banshee and old friend of my grandfather."

"I am honored to be in your presence", said the doctor to the other Elementals with a bow.

"And you two already know Kendall", I continued as I referred to the witch.

"Princess", said Kendall simply.

"Miss Kendall", said Yea Seul with just as much enthusiasm. Because of her flaky nature in the past, she wasn't particularly a favorite of the other Elementals, particularly with the princesses. "So what exactly happened over there?"

"Hold on a second", began Spike, "how do you know something happened? How does your brain know what happened? I thought only the original six had magical powers." Upon hearing his comments, I looked over to Fixit for confirmation.

"I have informed him of a few details since today's incident."

"Well, that saves me some time", I replied in reference to the fact that the origin, legends, and other detailed information of the Elementals was always a complicated thing to explain.

"Well for starters", began Andre, "it seems Fernando's gotten another Destiny Scar", he said in reference to the scar on my left arm that stretched from my elbow to my wrist.

As a werewolf, I was born with the genetic ability to heal quicker than the average Joe. All werewolves are born with this ability, and some are so powerful that the healing process is practically instantaneous. Combine that with the fact that we Elementals had the ability to heal at will (normally anyway; after all my powers were still on the fritz), and you'll find that it's extremely difficult to permanently damage our bodies in any form, especially considering that so many ancient cultures depict any one of the six Elementals as the equivalent of Jesus. That being said, every so often at random occasions, we receive scars from battles that our bodies never completely heal from just like normal people do. We call these Destiny Scars, as they are reminders that despite whatever the legends may say about us, we are _not_ by any means immortal.

"Also", began Yea Seul, "to answer your question from before, while the other three princesses are by no means spellcasters like our comrades, we, too, still have gifts of our own besides shapeshifting. For instance, I am both an animagus _and_ a necromance."

"How is talking to dead people _not_ magic", asked a still confused Spike.

"Your confusion is to be expected if you're basing your questions off of the mundy definition of "necromancy"", said Andre.

"What's a mundy", asked Spike, interrupting Andre's explanation upon being confused yet again.

"A muggle", I replied in translation.

"Oh", replied Spike upon understanding my Harry Potter reference.

"As I was saying", continued Andre, "mundies refer to necromancy as the ability to communicate with or otherwise summon those that have passed away. Furthermore, those who possess this ability are referred to as necromancers. However, that is only partially correct. What most people fail to realize is that anyone can possess the ability to call upon the dead in some fashion. True necromancy is the ability to _command_ the dead. Those who can summon and command armies of rotting, empty carcasses, those are _true_ necromancers. However, a necro _mance_ is one who can detect communicate with not only the dead, but also with demons, monsters, and other forms of supernatural beings.

"Sometimes involuntarily", added Yea Seul.

"Okay, but how is she able to do so", asked Spike.

"We don't know", I replied. "But it's a handy ability to have in our line of work."

"If the princess is aware of today's incident, then it stands to reason that she has been in contact with these supernatural forces", suggested Fixit.

"Very good, Darling", said Kendall. "So tell us, Yea Seul, what did the spirits tell you?"

"None of your business", retorted Yea Seul. Kendall didn't have to try very hard to get under her skin. "Why don't you tell us about the vision you had about Fernando", she challenged in response. Normally I would keep out of it whenever these two had one of their little cat fights, but I couldn't afford everyone's attention to be on Kendall's vision.

"Enough", I roared. "We need to stay on topic. So what was it that you saw, Yea Seul?" Yea Seul hesitated for a moment, then paused to take a deep breath before speaking again.

"I saw a blizzard."

"A what", asked Spike.

"A blizzard", she repeated. "There was a city, only I couldn't identify what city it was since it was covered in ice and snow. I saw visions of the city being plunged into darkness because of the storm, and the air was filled with dying screams, as well as evil laughter." A gasped a little upon hearing her description of her vision, as it sounded shockingly similar to a piece of the nightmarish vision I endured during my Spirit Call spell.

"Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but that all seems too random to be meaningful", said Spike.

"Not necessarily", I began. "Yea Seul's visions may seem random, and unfocused, however she can see and sense things that many of us can't. That said, I'm sure she's already looked into the matter. Isn't that right, Yea Seul?" It was at this point that Yea Seul began typing away at a keyboard, confirming my knowledge of how she operated as she began revealing to us what she had found. At some point before the meeting, she must've revealed her discovery to Andre as well, for he began to narrate along with her.

"Take a look at this", said Yea Seul as another screen in Fixit's lab showed us a picture of what looked like a scientist with red hair on his head, and face.

"Who might I ask is this human", asked Kendall.

"His name is Doctor Donald Todd", I began.

" _Was_ ", corrected Andre.

"What?"

"While you were off battling who-knows-what today, Doctor Todd was found dead earlier this afternoon."

"If you do not mind my asking, Master, what is the significance of Doctor Todd", asked Fixit.

"I recall an incident several years ago in Illinois", began Doctor Goat.

"What incident", asked Spike.

"The Big Bang", I began. "Once upon a time, a man named Edwin Alva was tasked with finding a solution to the gang wars that were plaguing his town."

"Isn't that the guy who runs that chemical research company that's said to have hands in just about everything", asked Spike.

"The same", I replied before continuing. "Anyway, he was told to find a solution to these gang wars, so six years ago, he found one. He created a special chemical which he then used to spike tear gas grenades that the police were using. The idea was that the chemical would act as a tracer so that the gangsters involved could be hunted down. What Alva failed to mention was that his company had a large stockpile of another chemical his company made, called Quantum Vapor, which at the time was at the docks where the gang wars were beginning."

I paused briefly for a moment in the middle of my story upon noticing Fixit's computer receiving some more files. Upon noticing them, I continued my story as I began to open them.

"Between the gunfire, and the chemically enhanced grenades, there was a lethal chemical reaction, which resulted in a huge chemical explosion."

"What was the result, Master", asked Fixit.

"The same thing that always happens in this crazy world we live in. The toxic fumes instantly poisoned and killed all but a handful of survivors, who were then mutated. The explosion itself was deemed as a tragedy, and given the name "The Big Bang". As for the surviving mutants, they became known as "Bang Babies", which is where these three come in", I said as I opened a recorded video that Yea Seul had sent us. The video was of a news conference taking place at a City Hall in response to Todd's death.

"One at a time, one at a time", said the young man at the podium as he tried to calm the angry, and concerned crowd. He was a white boy wearing what looked like a green, futuristic jump suit. The suit has a metal utility belt around its waist, came with a white motorcycle-like helmet with a green, see-through face guard on it, black gloves and elbow pads, and what looked like rocket shoes on his feet, and a jetpack on his back. It was like if Gizmo was my age, but much cooler. However, unlike Gizmo, who was clearly a rotten human child, this guy I knew for a fact was a mutant. "Uh, you there, Sir", continued the techno-mutant as he pointed to a random man with a pen, and pad.

"What do you people have to say for yourselves", asked the angry man. Several other citizens took advantage of the situation and began bombarding the poor guy with more rude (to put it nicely) questions and comments.

"Is this an act of war?"

"What gives you people the right?"

"What are you freaks even doing here", asked some angry woman as she pointed over to the two young African-Americans who were standing off to the side with the mayor and police chief. One of them was a female, dressed in a mostly red jump suit with light purple designs along the arms, legs, and sides of the torso. She also wore a cape, which was light purple on top, and dark purple on the bottom, a dark purple bandana which she used as a mask, and matching pairs of white gloves, and tennis shoes. It wasn't the best design for a superhero costume, but it was still _leagues_ better than the one Kyd Wykkyd made.

The other one was a young male with dreadlocks, though they were considerably shorter than typical dreads. He wore a pair of pants with a shirt that matched so well in both color and style, you'd swear it was yet another jumpsuit. Both were pitch black, with the exceptions of the yellow and blue pockets on his pants (the golden-yellow pockets rested along his calves, while the dark blue ones rested on his hips), and the golden-yellow design in the center of his chest. The design consisted of a circle, with a large lightning bolt running through it. This symbol had become so iconic over the past few years that it was starting to rank up there with the infamous Bat Signal.

He also wore a cape-like, Seto Kaiba-style coat (except this one had sleeves) that was dark blue on the outside, and golden-yellow on the inside. On his hands he wore a pair of golden-yellow gloves with dark blue fingers, on his feet he wore dark blue boots with golden-yellow straps on them, on the top half of his face he wore a white mask, which unlike Robin's (whose had a similar shape to it), made no attempt to hide his eyes, and on his forehead he wore a pair of dark blue goggles, which were designed to look like a fusion between construction goggles, and heavy-duty sunglasses.

"Go back to _your_ town, Freaks", cried another angry man. This resulted in the majority of the crowd chanting, "Freaks, go home", over and over again. The crowd was finally silenced when someone was bold enough to scream above the crowd, grabbing the attention of the hero in dreads as it caused him to storm to the microphone.

"And take that Permafrost bitch with you!"

"Okay, that's enough", retorted the dreaded hero to the crowd in frustration. "You can say what you want about me, and people like us, but I won't tolerate you dissing her like this! She doesn't deserve this hate! Permafrost is a _way_ more than decent person who was dealt a _very_ bad hand in life! When we last saw her, she was working to get better, and until one of you can prove to me that she is responsible for this tragedy, she is innocent! Furthermore, we will continue to look into the matter until we figure out what is going on, and why Doctor Donald Todd had to suffer for it! No further questions", he ended his rant as he pulled out a triangular-shaped piece of metal from his coattails. The piece of metal then extended into the form of a disc, which he then used to fly away from City Hall, using his electrical powers to lift it into the air. The other male hero then followed his lead as he wrapped one of his arms around the female hero and flew after him with her in his grasp. The video ended soon after.

"Wow, touchy", said Spike.

"Are they of any importance as well", asked Fixit.

"The chick is called Shebang", began Yea Seul, "a Class 4 mutant with incredible strength, agility, and durability."

"The one covered in heavy artillery is called Gear", continued Andre. "Though he may be a Class 2 mutant, his intelligence and engineering skills are not to be taken lightly."

"And finally", I began, "the mutant bug zapper in dreads is known as Static, the defender of Dakota City. His electrical abilities are so powerful that over time he's bumped up from a Class 4, to a Class 5. The three of them are supposedly some of the few that survived the Big Bang, and are three of the fewer that maintained after the events of the attempted 2nd Big Bang."

"What do you mean, "attempted"", asked Kendall.

"This is where Doctor Todd, comes in", I continued. "Four years after the first Big Bang, Doctor Todd created a supposed cure for the Quantum Vapor gas and released it into the city's air. This resulted in most of the city's mutants losing their powers, and becoming human once again. As you can imagine, many of these mutants weren't pleased with this cure, so several of them stole the little that remained of the Quantum Vapor gas, and attempted to recreate the original chemical explosion. Although their plan for an explosion failed, a small fraction of the Bang Babies was able to regain their powers, as well as find ways to counteract Doctor Todd's cure."

"So you think that somebody killed him to prevent another mutant cure", asked Spike as I pulled up a picture of Doctor Todd's body. The picture showed him impaled by large icicles that shot out of the frozen ground like a tower. As for the ground upon which the icicles stood, it was actually a lake that had been frozen over in a layer of ice so thick that the sun's rays had little to no effect on it.

"That is a possibility", replied Fixit.

"Still", I began, "I'm curious about something. Static and the others, as well as Alva Industries reside in Dakota City, but according to that video clip we just watched, that meeting, and presumably the crime scene where Doctor Todd died, are down in Benton. Doctor Todd may have created the cure for Dakota City's mutants, but that was still approximately two years ago. Why would Static be summoned to another city just for that? And more importantly, why would somebody decide only _now_ to kill him?"

"They mentioned somebody called Permafrost. Think that may have something to do with this, Boss?"

"This is where I come in again", began Yea Seul. "After I had my vision about that blizzard, I decided to do some digging, which was how I discovered the news about Doctor Todd's death. Once I realized who he was and discovered his connection to Static, and the Big Bang, I did some more digging", said Yea Seul as a photo of a young girl appeared on the screen.

This girl had blue skin, purple eyes, and long hair as white as snow. The picture showed her wearing a purple winter coat, purple fingerless gloves, and a blue scarf around her neck. Taking the fact that she was obviously a mutant out of the equation for a moment, between the looks of her clothes, and the depressing look one her face, the poor girl looked like she was homeless.

" _This_ is Permafrost", continued Yea Seul, "a very powerful cryo-and-atmokinetic who also was fortunate to survive the events of the Big Bang. Dakota City has her registered as a Class 3 mutant, but records show that over time she learned to control her powers, which would currently make her a Class 4."

"What records", I asked.

"These records", replied Andre as he sent more files over to us, including another photo of a young girl with light brown hair, dark brown (almost black) eyes, and a very familiar face.

"Wait, is that—", I began.

"Yes, this is _also_ Permafrost", continued Andre. "Her real name is Maureen, Maureen Connor. After a few run-ins with Static, Maureen joined Dakota City's homeless program. There she worked as an active volunteer promoting awareness for the homeless community. She became something of a poster girl for the program, to the point where she spent most of that time making appearances across the entire state of Illinois. However, Yea Seul's findings confirm two things. The first is that Maureen was reported as "missing" less than twelve hours before Doctor Todd was killed. The second, is that Maureen was nowhere near Dakota when Todd's cure was released."

"Wait, then why would she have a reason to kill him", asked Spike.

"Unless Static is correct, and Permafrost is in fact innocent", suggested Fixit.

"Hmmm", I said simply as I crossed my arms to ponder for a bit. They both had brought up some good points. Though the timing between Maureen's disappearance, and Doctor Todd's death did in fact add up, the supposed motive did not. It was still _way_ too early to jump to any conclusions, especially considering that Maureen's powers were not entirely unique, as I knew of at least one other mutant who possessed powers similar to hers. My inner thoughts were interrupted upon sensing a small earthquake shaking the lab.

"Fixit", I asked the cyborg.

"Magnitude registered at 2.3, Master."

"Mind if I cut in for a moment", asked a familiar, and smug voice as another panel appeared on screen, with a new visitor occupying it.

"Red X", I began, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Hey, you're that delinquent thief I've heard about", said Yea Seul.

"A dime a dozen in this town, Sweet Cheeks", replied Red X. "And based on your fiery charm, I'm guessing that you must be the Princess of Fire, am I right?"

"She's the Princess of Earth, Jackass", retorted Andre.

"Could've fooled me."

"Is there a point to your interruption, X", I asked.

"I thought I'd let you know that I detected a plasma-zooka in a certain downtown residential area."

"What's a plasma-zooka", I questioned him.

"It's a very powerful weapon that runs on an energy source consisting of plasma energy, spiked with tiny traces of xenothium, and heated to several thousand degrees by way of electrocution", explained Spike.

"The same weapon used against us three nights ago, Master", added Fixit.

"It's that gunman from the trees", I said with a growl.

"That'd be my guess", said Red X.

"So DS' forced might be there as well", suggested Andre.

"That'd be my guess, too", continued Red X. "I'd look into it myself but—", he began before being interrupted by a security guard as he rushed at him. Red X then pauses midsentence to knock him unconscious. "As you can see, my hands are a bit full right now. Ta-ta, Wolfboy", he said with a wave before his connection turned off.

"What a prick", said Andre. "Remind me again why he has a D-Tector."

"When I remember, I'll let you know", I replied sarcastically. "Look, Yea Seul, do you truly believe that the fate of the Elementals intertwines with that of Permafrost?"

"I do."

"Then expand your research on enhanced persons in Dakota. Compile your findings with what you've learned about Jump City's enhanced persons into a single database. Spike, I'll trust you to assist her with this task", I added as I turned my attention to him.

"You got it, Boss", he replied with a salute.

"I think now might be a good time to mention that I am currently preparing to go to Benton", said Doctor Goat.

"Why's that, Doc", I asked.

"I and several other doctors, and researchers are being summoned to his funeral to pay our respects to Doctor Todd's work, as well as his family. After that, I'm off to the military base in Kadena. Apparently, it would seem that Solaga has been spotted." Upon his mentioning of the Light Dragon, I gasped.

"Wait, are you sure", asked a now concerned Andre. "Somebody spotted her? Somebody's seen Asia?"

"I'll find out soon", replied the doctor.

"Fine, then I look forward to hearing from you in the near future", I began. "In the meantime, see what other details you can find out in Benton."

"As you wish", he replied with a bow.

"Kendall, see if you can look further into Yea Seul's visions about this blizzard. Maybe this is a sign of something that's to come later."

"Very good, Darling."

"Andre, I need you to do some digging as well. I need you to see if you can find out any new information about our old friend, Alexis Polinski. It would seem that he's been hiding out in California after all this time under the name, Control Freak."

"Gladly", replied Andre as he cracked his knuckles, as he was no more of a fan of Control Freak than I was.

"Geoffrey, rumor has it that Static has friends in high places, specifically the Bat. If that's the case, then Robin might have some information that we can use. Get back to the Tower, and see what you can find."

"Right away, Sir."

"As for me, I've got a date with a certain earth-bender", I said as I opened another shadow portal under my feet. "Meeting adjourned", I continued as I sank into the portal.


	30. Personal Space

As I traveled through the abyss of the Shadow Zone, I could feel two more magnitudes rumbling through the city above me.

"This is getting ridiculous", I said to myself as I continued towards Terra's house. "Fixit, can you hear me?"

"I am here, Master", replied the cyborg through my collar.

"How big were those magnitudes?"

"Both began at an even 2.0, but were then immediately reduced to 1.5."

"Wait, so—", I began.

"No, Sir, neither were natural occurrences."

"What is wrong with her? Why is she constantly making earthquakes?"

"Perhaps we will find out soon. It would seem that the mysterious gunman is in the area", said Fixit upon me reaching my destination. I had arrived just in time to see a car pull up into the driveway of the house. It was a 2004 Chevy Impala, with an unsightly dent in the center of its headlights. The beat up car came to a halt as its headlights kicked off and the engine died. The car door then opens revealing Terra as she stepped out. Once again she was wearing a white robe, with nothing on underneath but lingerie (I also couldn't help but notice that the lingerie she wore was the same as what she wore the night we met). What _was_ different about her attire this time around was that she was wearing flip flops, and instead of her usual black wig, this time she wore a pink one. Upon pulling her duffle bag out of the car, she slammed the door behind her in frustration. It was at this point that her body became encased in her yellow aura for a brief moment.

"Pull it together, Tasha", she began to herself as her aura began to fade away, "before you-know-who finds out", she continued as she walked towards the side of her house, around to the back. Apparently the poor girl was in _such_ a bad way that she made active efforts to avoid being seen going in and out of her house. Terra's face had such a sad look to it, as all I could see was devastation in her eyes. Her misery wound up being such a distraction, that I didn't even notice that the gunman was waiting for her on her porch until after she rounded the corner. He was sitting on the back porch swing with his legs crossed off to the left in the dark, only letting himself being known by speaking as Terra fumbled with her keys.

"Bonsoir, Mademoiselle", said the gunman with a deep voice. Upon hearing his voice, Terra gasped and jumped back a bit, dropping her keys as she did so.

"What the fuck", I asked to myself aloud as I looked upon the gunman. He was not what I was expecting at all. Granted I wasn't sure what exactly I _was_ expecting from this gunman, but I was expecting more than an ape. That wasn't an exaggeration, apparently this mystery gunman, the one who fired a plasma-zooka at me from in a tree was quite literally an ape.

Sitting across from Terra was a grizzly-sized, mutated gorilla, with a leather sash decorated with bullets (giving it the look of a pure bullet sash to the naked eye) across his left shoulder, a pair of custom-designed holsters on his hips, each carrying what looked like a bunch of those ghost-capturing canisters from "Danny Phantom", a metallic backpack-like jetpack on his back, and his signature plasma-zooka was resting against his leg. How did I know he was a mutant? Well the first obvious reason I knew was his ability to speak. It was _somewhat_ believable to think that some extremely gifted individual had the time and skills to create a device that translated the gorilla's thoughts or something like that. However, this gorilla's mouth moved in time with his words as he spoke, so he was clearly speaking for himself, oddly enough in a French accent for some reason. There was also the fact that he was equipped with and possessed the ability to utilize heavy machinery and firearms, and the fact that he was a lot bigger than usual, as gorillas are supposed to get no bigger than six feet tall, whereas this gorilla was about ten feet tall. Plus, his underbite alone was something of a deformity itself as he could probably crack open a sea turtle with it if he really wanted to.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Mallah", replied Terra nervously.

"Come now, Child. Let us dispense wiz formalities."

"What do you want, Mallah?"

"Such hostility. Have I perhaps caught you at a bad time", asked the French ape with a shrug as he looked her up and down. In response to his gazing eyes, Terra crossed her arms in an attempt to cover herself further. In response to Terra's submissiveness, Mallah chuckled a bit before continuing. "Do not flatter yourself. We boz may be mutants, but you are still a bit too hairless for my taste."

"Why are you here", asked Terra, still looking for an explanation. "I haven't done anything."

"Is zat so", asked the ape as he sat himself up and grabbed his weapon. "If I am not mistaken, you've gotten quite a bit of attention from ze wolf, have you not", he continued as he stood up and secured his weapon on his back, revealing that his sash had a custom-made sheath-like pouch for his weapon.

"I haven't spoken to that new Titan", lied Terra as Mallah began to approach her. Once he reached her, Mallah let out a brief roar as he slapped her with the back of his right hand, causing her to fall down the three steps leading to her porch. Before Terra had a chance to recover, Mallah leapt from the porch, landing beside her as she laid on her stomach. He then reached down and grabbed her by her torso and hoisted her up, crushing her in the process as his hand was massive in comparison to the majority of her body. The fact that Mallah and Terra knew each other was the _only_ reason I was choosing not to reveal myself, as it seemed that he had information I might need.

"I suppose your muzer never had ze opportunity to teach you manners. After all, you shouldn't tell lies, Young Terra. I am more zan aware zat you nearly destroyed ze Jump City bridge, as well as cause all zose countless urzquakes. And let us not forget ze destruction of Professor Chang's laboratory."

"What was I supposed to do", grunted Terra in Mallah's grip. "He was gonna destroy the city."

"Hmph", huffed Mallah as he gave Terra a small toss to the side. Terra began coughing violently upon crashing into the ground, as if she had just nearly drowned. "Zough preventing ze city's destruction due to Chang's rogue actions was one zing you've managed to do right, it does not excuse ze attention you've given yourself, nor does it excuse what happened wiz ze bridge. We have been fortunate so far zat ze green one has not revealed you to ze uzers, but your sloppiness has led ze wolf straight to you."

"I'm sorry", groaned Terra.

"I'm afraid empty apologies do not excuse you eizer, my dear. We had an agreement. You were given ze gift of a clean slate in exchange for your cooperation. You vowed zat you would stay away from ze Titans, and assured us zat you could control your powers. Perhaps I should report zat you were lying to us about zat as well."

"No, please", begged Terra. "I'm trying my best, I'm just under a lot of stress!" It was at this point that Beast Boy arrived on the scene, as he rushed into Mallah as a gorilla himself. It was worth noting that oddly enough, Beast Boy's gorilla form was currently ten feet tall as well, implying that this only occurs whenever he fought Mallah. "Beast Boy, what're you doing here", asked a now frustrated Terra. Beast Boy's angry face is temporarily replaced with a look of confusion as he looks over at Terra. "I told you to stay away! Stay out of this and go away!"

"You would do well to listen to ze girl", taunted Mallah as rose to his feet upon recovering from Beast Boy's sneak attack. "Now run along, ze adults are discussing business." Beast Boy simply growled an angry growl in response.

"Don't do it, Beast Boy", I said to myself as I witnessed the look of hatred on Beast Boy's face as he was taking Mallah's bait. As his lip curled up over his fangs, his arms (due to his body being supported by his fists) as well as one of his eyelids began to twitch. Beast Boy was beyond pissed, so it didn't at all surprise me when Beast Boy gave into his rage and lunged at Mallah in his werewolf form with an angry roar. Having anticipated his assault, Mallah was more than prepared as he grabbed his weapon as he swatted Beast Boy out of the air with it by striking him under his chin. Before he could recover, Mallah then fires his weapon, sending Beast Boy crashing into the side of Terra's house. Upon impact, Beast Boy is forced back into his human form due to being weakened.

"Pity such strength is wasted on fools such as you", taunted Mallah as he proceeded to crush Beast Boy against the house with his foot.

"Mallah, stop", pleaded Terra.

"Why should I? Perhaps it is better zis way. Now zere will be one less distraction to cause you stress", continued Mallah as he pointed his weapon at Beast Boy's face.

"Please", began Terra as she rushed over and grabbed at Mallah's arm, "I'll do anything you want."

"Sorry, but I am not one of your clients", retorted Mallah in reference to Terra's sleazy job as he shoved her away from him. "It is as I've said before", he continued to Beast Boy, "you may be just as strong, but my intelligence _far_ exceeds yours." This was the point where I decided that enough was enough, as I opened a shadow portal to Mallah's right and lunged out at him in my wolf form.

"Howling Darkness", I roared as I concentrated my aura into a stream of pure dark energy and fired it at the ape from my jaws. Mallah roared in pain as he's thrown off of Beast Boy, crashing onto his side several feet away from the others in the process.

"For one so smart, you seem to have "intelligence" confused with "fighting dirty"", I growled as I stalked towards Mallah. The large ape growled in response as he rose to his feet, preparing to fire his weapon again, only to be interrupted by an annoyingly robotic voice speaking to him from the earpiece he had in his ear.

"Monsieur Mallah, you have had your fun. Report back at once", said the mysterious robotic voice.

"But Master, ze dark one has appeared. I can seize zem boz."

"No, we will strike when the time is right. For now we will retreat and regroup. We cannot afford another mistake."

"But I zink it would—", began Mallah before being interrupted again. As his "Master" began to scold him for contradicting him, Mallah began reloading his weapon, replacing the red canister that was previously loaded with a white one.

"I have no interest in what you think, Monsieur Mallah, and it would be wise for you to keep that in mind. Your objective was to deliver a message, not to engage the werewolf. Do not forget your place, and return at once. Do you follow?"

"Oui", replied the ape as he pointed his weapon at me and fired. Instead of the previous red blast of energy, this one was white.

"Howling Darkness", I repeated as I fired back at Mallah's blast. Upon our two attacks colliding, we were all blinded as we were consumed by a bright light.

"Zis is not ze last you've heard of me", warned Mallah through the flash. By the time it finally passed, the ape was _long_ gone. Upon discovering that we were all safe for now, I turned back to see Beast Boy walking over to Terra, who was still lying on the ground.

"Need a hand", he asked as he offered her his hand. Terra then grabbed it as he helped her rise to her feet. "Oh, and uh, I think you dropped these", he continued nervously as he handed her back her keys. Terra hesitates for a moment after taking back her keys, only to break the silence by clocking Beast Boy in the jaw with her fist. As Beast Boy fell back to the ground, I rushed at Terra with a roar, urging her to back away from him.

"Relax, I'm fine", said Beast Boy to me as I nudged at his face with my nose.

"You know, you're a real piece of work", I said to Terra, returning my attention to her. "He risks his own skin to save yours and _this_ is how you repay him?"

"Who asked to be saved", retorted Terra in frustrated anger. "Maybe next time he'll learn to stay out of other people's business!"

"Maybe next time we'll just let that overgrown monkey do whatever he wants to do to you", I retorted.

"That's enough, Dude. I'm fine", said Beast Boy to me, urging me to go easy on Terra.

"Yeah, he doesn't need his mommy to baby him anymore", taunted Terra. Her needlessly aggressive attitude towards us seemed completely out-of-character, which said a lot considering I knew very little about Terra. It was for this reason that I ignored Beast Boy's request and continued to pry.

"You're a fool", I began, which got Terra to temporarily calm down a bit as a look of shock and confusion appeared on her face upon me calling her on her bullshit. "Do you have any idea the kind of danger you've put yourself in? It's quite obvious to me that you have yet to gain complete control of your powers, and instead of seeking help from your friends, you've more-or-less sold your soul to the Devil. Why else would you allow yourself to be pushed around by a monkey?" Terra hesitates for a moment, but then laughs off my comments with empty laughter before speaking again.

"Ha! Friends like you and the Titans? I'd be better off with a pack of hyenas than you losers." It was at this point I noticed an irregular pattern to her heartbeat, revealing to me that she was lying, mostly to herself.

"You don't mean that, Terra", groaned Beast Boy as he finally struggled to rise to his feet behind me.

"My name, is not, Terra", hollered Terra as she fired her aura at us from her hands, sending the two of us flying backwards a few feet. In response, after recovering from the crash, I instinctively growl and prepare to rush at her for another fight. The only reason I didn't was because Beast Boy, who was fortunate enough to be close enough to me, grabbed my tail, urging me to let it go. "Now get away from my house, or I swear I will call the police on your asses!" I growled at her in response, as I wasn't buying her bluff.

"Wolfman, let's go", said Beast Boy as he rose to his feet and tugged at my tail. "Wolfman, come on", he continued as he tugged at my tail again.

 _This isn't over_ , I thought to myself as I reluctantly turned around towards Beast Boy, following his lead as we Changed forms and began our flight back home. Upon returning to the Tower, we quickly discovered that everyone else had already gone to bed, even Silkie and T-Bone, as they both occupied the couch in the Ops Room. Beast Boy and I then proceeded to our rooms to go to bed as well, after making me promise to him that I would keep the events of that night a secret from the others.

As I slept in my bed, I tossed and turned as I fell victim to yet another nightmare. Unfortunately, I have no initial memory of what happened in my bad dream, other than that the first half of it was once again haunted by the mysterious, deep voice from before. As for the second half, all I remember is being consumed by a warm, white light. The last thing I remember before waking up was hearing Raven's voice echo through my head.

"Good boy", she whispered, sending chills throughout my body. It was then that I began to regain consciousness as I could feel my eyes beginning to open. Before they did however, I slammed them shut, as I could already tell something was wrong, and I was afraid of opening them and discovering that I was right.

Since I was now conscious at this point, I could feel that my head was no longer resting on my pillow, but rather on somebody's feet. I could smell that I was no longer in my room, as the air smelt of lavender, and various different powders, instead of the natural odor my body gave off. And I could hear the room being filled by a familiar sound, specifically a reptilian-like snoring sound.

 _Please be a dream, please be a dream, please be a dream_ , I chanted to myself as I slowly began to open my eyes, desperately praying that I wasn't where I thought I was. Sure enough, I was indeed in the very last place I wanted to be. I was in Raven's room, on her bed, with her in it, and my head resting on her feet, and I had absolutely no idea or memory of how I got there. The only positive thing about the situation was that Raven was still asleep, as I witnessed her continuing to snore as her stomach moved up and down. However, I was so frightened by waking up where I was that I couldn't move. I did finally manage to move after being frozen for a few minutes, but only because I was startled due to Raven's feet shifting underneath me. Upon me jumping and falling off of her bed, Raven awakens. At this point, I was too terrified to think straight, so instead I simply Changed into a wolf and ran out of her room, retreating to my own. I didn't know what else to do, so I panicked. I remained in my room for several hours, pretending to be asleep whenever somebody came by and knocked on my door, as I was desperately trying to avoid having to look Raven in the eye after waking up in her room.

"Do you intend to stay in here all day, Sir", asked Geoffrey as he observed me pacing back and forth constantly. I had returned to my human form at this point.

"I can't believe I did that", I began hysterically. "How the fuck did I wind up in Raven's bed?"

"Do you not remember? You awoke late last night and proceeded to spend the rest of the evening with Miss Raven."

"What?! I don't remember that! Why didn't you stop me?!"

"I had no reason to believe that you sleepwalked, so I made the assumption that you were conscious."

"What?! Are you serious right now?! God DAMMIT", I roared as I slammed onto my bed with both of my fists.

"Sir, you must calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down", I retorted.

"Then don't blame me if the others overhear your little temper tantrum."

"Yo, Wolfman", began Cyborg from my communicator. "Grab your deck and get up here. Beast Boy is one move away from wiping out all of Starfire's Life Points."

"What did he just say", I asked aloud seeking confirmation that I heard what I thought I heard.

"It would appear that your friends are partaking in your favorite card game, Sir. It would be wise to accept Master Cyborg's invitation."

"Why should I?"

"For one thing, your friends will surely become curious if they discover you turned down the chance to play your favorite game. Also, I would like to point out that you will have to leave your room and face Raven eventually."

"Yes, eventually, as in I don't want to right now."

"You won't have to, Sir, because Miss Raven is currently out of the Tower."

"What?"

"She, and Master Robin left the Tower some time ago with Silkie, and T-Bone, leaving behind the rest of you. I recommend taking advantage of the situation and joining the others. A few duels are exactly what you need to calm your nerves before Miss Raven returns."

"Fine", I said reluctantly as I grabbed my deck of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. "But let me know when she gets back", I added before opening a shadow portal and walking into it, not waiting for Geoffrey to respond. I then emerged from the floor of the Ops Room to see the others playing their own Yu-Gi-Oh! cards at the large table we used to eat Chinese food on. Beast Boy was currently engaged in a duel with Starfire, while Cyborg narrated.

"Ooooh, and Beast Boy counters Starfire's Spell, with a Magic Jammer Trap card", said Cyborg as he pretended to host a duel from the card game's respective anime series. "Looks like this duel might be over right here, right now."

"How so", I asked as I walked over to see for myself.

"Oh, hey, Wolfman", said Cyborg upon returning to his normal voice. "You're just in time to see Beast Boy kick Starfire's butt."

"This card game is most confusing", whined Starfire. "Cyborg, I do not understand the purpose of most of what you have given me", she continued, implying that Cyborg built her deck.

"That seems fair", I said sarcastically as it was clear that Starfire had no idea what she was doing, which obviously explained why Beast Boy was beating her so easily.

"Hey, all's fair in love and Duel Monsters", teased Beast Boy, who felt like he was on top of the world. It was at this point I went into full-on nerd mode and began studying the field. Beast Boy had three monsters on the field, "Brain Crusher", "Guardian Angel Joan", and "Fusion Devourer". Aside from that, he had no other cards on the field, nor in his hand. As for Starfire, she had nothing on the field aside from a single facedown card, and the Spell card she tried to use that Beast Boy destroyed was "Dian Keto the Cure Master".

"It is no use. I have been defeated", said Starfire having accepted her supposed defeat.

"Not necessarily", I began, "what's the score, Cy?"

"Starfire's down to 300 Life Points, while Beast Boy managed to bump his up to 11000." Beast Boy's grin doubled in size upon hearing how much he was beating Starfire.

"I see", I said as I snuck a peak at Starfire's facedown card. It turned out to be a Trap card, specifically one called "Backup Soldier". "Lemme see your hand, Star", I continued. Starfire then shows me the six cards she had in her hand. She had two Quickplay Spell cards, a Trap card, and three very special, very iconic, Monster cards. "No wonder Beast Boy is winning", I began, "if Starfire truly knew how to play, she would've won by now."

"Nuh-uh", argued a defensive Beast Boy, "my field is stacked! She's got nothing left!"

"Please, she could wipe you out right here and now if she knew how to."

"Oh yeah? Prove it", challenged Beast Boy.

"May I, Star", I asked as I held out my hand. Starfire simply nods in response as she handed me her cards. "Alright, watch and learn, Beast Boy", I said as I began Starfire's final turn. "From Starfire's hand, I activate the Spell, "Trap Booster"."

"What does that do", asked Beast Boy.

"By discarding one card from my hand, I can activate a Trap Card from my hand", I explained.

"Uh-oh."

"Now you're in for it, Beast Boy", teased Cyborg.

"So by discarding this Monster card from my hand", I began as I continued my move, "I can activate the Trap card, "Exchange of the Spirit". But before I do, I'll chain in with another Spell card. So now I play, "Emergency Provisions". Now I can send any number of Spell or Trap cards to the Graveyard, increasing my Life Points by 1000 for each one. So I'll get rid of "Exchange of Spirit", and "Trap Booster", which'll bring my total to 2300."

"That's still a fraction of what I have", retorted Beast Boy. The two of us were _really_ getting into this card game at this point.

"True, but whoever said I was done", I asked before continuing. "Now that my Life Points have increased, I'll pay 1000 of them so I can use the effect of my Trap card. Now, since the both of us each have at least 15 cards in our Graveyards, we must swap them with the cards in our decks."

"Seriously? You just sent almost all of our cards to the Graveyard", exclaimed a now confused, yet concerned Beast Boy as my maneuver left the both of us with very few cards left in our decks, which was usually a bad thing.

"Exactly, because now I'm activating my facedown card, "Backup Soldier". If I have at least 5 Monsters in my Graveyard, and you know I do, I get to select 3 Normal ones and add them to my hand, provided that none of them have more than 1500 Attack Points", I explained as I added three Monster cards to my hand, including the one that I discarded for "Trap Booster". And with that, I win", I said smugly as I revealed the five cards I had in my hand, which were all pieces of Exodia. Beast Boy shrieked in response, as he was devastated by my out-of-nowhere victory.

"Boo-yah", cheered Cyborg as he high-fived me.

"Glorious", chimed Starfire upon defeating Beast Boy. "That was most impressive."

"Eh, it's a gift", I said with a shrug and a grin.

"I demand a rematch", demanded Beast Boy as he began angrily shuffling his cards for another duel.

"Bring it on, BB", I replied as I handed Starfire her deck, and swapped it out for mine. After we finished shuffling we each drew five cards.

"You go first", demanded Beast Boy with a worried look on his face after looking at the five cards he currently held in his hand. He clearly needed work on his poker face.

"Fine by me", I said as I began to make my move. "I summon "Lady of Dragons" in Attack Mode. That's all for now."

"My turn then", said Beast Boy as he drew from his deck (since I made the first move, I wasn't allowed to draw yet). "I summon this in Defense Mode", he continued as he placed a Monster card facedown. "Back to you."

"Sweet", I said to myself upon drawing a good card. "Now I summon "Delta Flyer", I said as I threw another Monster on the field. "And since he's a Tuner, I'll use him to tune "Lady of Dragons"", I continued as I took my two cards off of the field and replaced it with a new one. "I Synchro Summon "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon". And now I'm gonna have him attack your facedown Monster." His Monster, "White Magical Hat", was easily destroyed, as it was a weak card. The duel then continues on for a few more turns, ending with my victory. The final score was: Me: 6000, Beast Boy: 0.

"No fair", whined Beast Boy upon being beaten twice in a row.

"It's nothing personal", I began as I shuffled my cards back into my deck, "it's just that I'm better than you", I teased. The next thing I knew, there was a random, white flash. It happened so quickly that it took me a few seconds to process that it transported me somewhere else. Upon realizing I wasn't in the Ops Room anymore, I discovered that I was instead in what appeared to be a tiny waiting room. Inside the waiting room was a 50-60" t.v., and four chairs, three of which were occupied.

Sitting in the first chair, from left to right, was what appeared to be a samurai warrior. His armor, and sword reminded me of the Silver Samurai from "The Wolverine", except his armor was a fusion of black, and really, really dark gray, and his sword glowed blue instead of red. The aura-like energy I felt coming from his sword told me that it was enchanted, which meant the samurai doubled as a magician.

Sitting in the second chair was a curvy Native American woman who looked to be about the same age as me. She had pouty lips, brown eyes, long, brown hair, and smooth skin. As for her attire, like me, she wore a costume inspired by a Marvel comic book character, as I recognized that her outfit was modeled after that of She-Hulk, complete with shoes, and fingerless gloves. The only thing that separated this woman's outfit from She-Hulk's, again, like mine, was the difference in color. Instead of the shoes, gloves, and majority of the suit being purple, it was instead red. And instead of the suit's second color being white, it was instead blue.

And finally, the third seat was occupied by a half-naked man with a jaguar's head, and tail. To his credit, he earned the right to be shirtless, as this man was extremely ripped and covered in muscles. The only thing he wore on the top half of his body were a pair of blue, fingerless gloves. As for the bottom half, he wore a pair of purple, tight, spandex-like pants, a pair of tall, yellow boots, and a blue pair of those panty-like things that male wrestlers wore over his purple pants. The nahual snarled at me as I looked into his green, feline eyes.

"What the Hell", I asked aloud in reference to being in a random room with a random assortment of people. It was then that the t.v. turned on. A weird humanoid ape creature with gray fur, pointed ears, and an amulet around his neck, then appeared on screen.

"Welcome, Champions all", began the ape creature in a dramatic voice that sounded like he should be advertising for movie theater trailers. "I am the Master of Games, and you are invited to compete in the tournament of unity!"


End file.
